whenever i walk a short distance, i feel as though i am going to give out. sometimes, i have to stop myself in the middle of my conversations just to catch my breath to continue talking. i try exercising, but i still focus on the negatives, what can be done to help make this better.

Gee, that sounds awful! Have you had a physical by a doctor? Maybe you should have that checked.

Helen

Howdy I can relate,I'm a big O' boy so when I had my annual physical the Doc. told me when exercising just do it but dont over do it.When I first started I could only walk 5 minutes and I'd be ready to pass out.So I'd go at my own pace until the 5 minutes became easy then I moved up.For the negatives I've believe it's in lesson 2 of the workbook it says while exercising count.Thats what I've been doing and it helps it didnt too much at first but eventually it does.I would recommend seeing the family doctor before starting any exercise program .

Hello, unhappy -

You might want to read my (long) reply in "Today's Active Topics" under "Exercising is good for your anxiety". It's absolutely okay and is actually to be expected that you will tire easily when you are first starting out. I think the key here for you is DON'T BE HARD ON YOURSELF. I'm dead serious. If you walk for 5 mins and get tired, that's okay. Just stop, and then try again the next or the following day. You will find that even after a few days 5 mins will get a lot easier and then you can progress to 7, 8, or 10 mins! Whatever suits your fancy. Don't put any expectations on yourself for how fast you think you should be progressing. It is perfectly okay for you to go at your own pace. I fel that is the only and best way to make you feel motivated to want to continue because you are doing it for you, you are calling the shots when you want, and you'll consequently begin really reaping psychological, and then eventually physical benefits from that approach. Actually, even with walking you'll, after just a short while (a week or two) begin to feel a little bit more energized and positive about life. I feel very fit now, but I remember a time in my life when all I could do was walk, and a lot of the time even that felt like too much of an effort. Just take it slow. If you relapse into not walking don't beat yourself up but congratulate yourself for the progress you did make. That'll make you feel alot better and cut down on the time passed before you try it again. Believe me, I know. I'm speaking from direct experience.

Also, it really makes me sad to see you call yourself "unhappy". I'm sorry that you feel that way. Please persevere with the program and, I promise you, if you stick with it your unhappiness will slowly begin to lift and eventually, at some point, it may be months, it could be years (but it will be well worth it), you will realize that you are happy.

I woud love to hear how the walking goes for you. Good luck.

Regards,

Kristie