Physical Health and Emotional Health

When I was younger I had no comprehension of the connection between physical health and emotional health. I was extremely thin, so when my doctor kept insisting that I needed to exercise, I kept brushing it off as unimportant. I thought, I'm skinny. People exercise to lose weight. Why do I need to exercise?  I was battling depression, and we couldn’t find any prescription medication that seemed to help. Eventually he found one that helped to a certain degree. After giving birth to my fifth child, I decided that I should start exercising. She was two, and I was still carrying extra weight. I knew that forty was not too far away, and it would be more difficult to get control over my weight at that point. I was not on antidepressants because I had just weaned her. I set my mind to getting in shape, and after about a month, I felt better, not just physically though. I realized that I was no longer depressed. I finally understood what my doctor had been trying to tell me all along. I had thought being thin meant I WAS healthy, but I was far from it. After six months of a regular workout routine, I was able to wear the clothes I wore at 106 pounds, yet I weighed 120. I was finally healthy and no longer required medication for depression. Being physically healthy was the best medication I had tried! Understanding the connection between emotional health and physical health is extremely important to anyone battling depression.