This isn't tri-specific, but ...

Last year, I lived in a crappy neighborhood where I was pretty much harassed on a daily basis, till one day it got bad enough that after a couple nervous breakdowns, I knew had to move. Anyway, to make a long story short, I dealt with it by hiding at the gym. Even though at first, my mind was so shot that I'd be sitting in the back of a spinning class pedalling with absolutely no resistance, just being there and having something physical to focus on helped tremendously.

So yeah, doing sports and working out has definitely helped me through rough times. Plus doing all this makes me feel like I can kick @ss. :D

Sports dealing with endurance have always been a thing in my upbringing. My Dad did Olys alot and he just basically loved to workout. He used to say that doing sports was "like brushing your teeth", especially endurance sports because sports in general clean the sole. It's not till I turned 35 that I finally understood what he meant by that. And only since starting this world of obsession have I seen that it is a way to clean myself of all problems and emotions. To me it's like a shower. A ride home from work or a run midday at work cleans the thoughts in my head. Since trying to do all three diciplins I found that each has it's way to wash off my troubles and allow me to forget my problems using each pedal push, foot strike and arm pull. A sort of running away from your problems??? hehe. That's why taking time off i.e., sitting not doing anything for me is hard. I get in a rut and begin to feel dirty. After a run or bike I feel clean INSIDE mentally and physically. The scenery of a mountain climb or through a winding country road on the bike or a run through a thick forest is definitley a spiritual cleanse.

Absolutely - Tri's, for me, are a great stress reducer. Great sense of accomplishment. Pushing limits. Doing more. Balancing - time management. Could probably fill up a page or two on the benefits - For me, the returns are great.

I comletely agree with endurance sports being medicine for the soul. In HS I ran XC and wrestled and thought that anyone who ran more than 3.1miles was an idiot. Then, following my parents' divorce and my coming to college, I got turned on to Tris and marathons (so much for those running more than 3.1 being idiots). Endurance sports allowed me to look at myself and run away from whatever pain or problems I had in my life. With my training and change in lifestyle I feel much more confident and more aware of myself. Endurance sports have also let me meet great friends. Some people turn to drugs and alcohol to escape the pain in their lives but endurance sports have become my addiction, allowing me to become a better person.

Tamara, take baby steps. Today: lay out some workout clothes, but do not put them on. Tomorrow: Put on the clothes, but do not workout. Put the clothes back where they were laid out. Check back the next day and let us know what happens.

I discovered through endurance sports how mentally strong I was and that the sports provided a vehicle for allowing my mind to be at ease. It was only when I discovered that I could quiet my mind while doing sports that I learned to quiet it outside of sports. And this had led to increased self-awareness.

It really came home to me during my 5th Ironman during the marathon when I realized that I only had that very moment to BE and DO what I was doing and that it was indeed magical to enjoy that freedom and the marathon didn't hurt me at all. And then I did it again 7 weeks later at my 6th Ironman. And then I was worried I might only be able to tap into this during an IM marathon! But, of course, I was wrong.

I've been drawn, like Anton, to some Buddhist study. Now I know that when I'm faced with adversity, that I have the power within me to face it, accept it and deal with it. A very powerful paradigm for Ironman training and racing!

I'm no veteran to this sport but I can say that I was drawn to tris first and foremost because I yearned for some emotional/psychological relief from the external pressures that I was absorbing internally. Work, family, relationship, finances, health, whatever - Everybody has their personal problems and I was no stranger to that and I found that I needed to physically spend some of the pent up (not always positive) mental energy.

At first I exercised angry. I had a big chip on my shoulder. After my first tri however, I couldn't race angry anymore. When I heard so many complete strangers, even fellow competitors, cheer me on during a race, I couldn't hang on to anger as my motivation to keep myself going.

I hadn't seen a sunrise while at the beach before until I had to hit the transition area at Venice Beach last Sept 11 for setup at 5am. I found it a very strenuous effort to hang on to negative thoughts while watching the breaking waves and the ocean before me with so many athletes quietly readying themselves in their own peaceful rituals.

For those couple of hours (I do sprint races), I let go of my little bag of "these are the world's injustices done to me" and just went out there and let my senses absorb this very unusual, new, stimulating experience. There was pain, fear, discomfort, and a lot of doubt, but it's because of all those emotions, or rather, the overcoming of those emotions, that I really love this sport.

For each and everyone who post in here thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts and experiences...
It is wonderful to get that feedback from great people and athletes...
My objective is to try to introduce at th clinic I work, and alternate type of intervention for patients, instead of just feeling prescriptions for medicine, to give them a wonderful way to heal and grow by introducing them, with baby steps to the wonderful athletic life....
It is my motivation at work these days...to spread he word of a healthy athletic life.
Thanks to all of you!

This is outstanding. While this solution may not be for everyone, it is definitely appropriate for enough people like me that it is more than worthwhile to present it as an option to consider.

The wonderful thing about tris is that it is the perfect incentive to stay fit. If you were to tell me "go to the gym and get in shape", my response would be: "Why? What for?"

I wouldn't do it because I don't see "being fit" as a valid goal to strive for. But if I know there's a great race in 3 months, you can be sure I'll choose suffering a little every day so I don't have to suffer a lot on race day. And getting into that habit and having a strong goal in mind really keeps me in a healthy structured discipline which I find to be a wonderful non-pharmaceutical solution to feeling sorry for yourself.