Exercise and Therapy Aid Recovery from Partying Lifestyle
A woman details how adopting a fitness routine and seeking therapy helped her overcome a period of self-neglect and reliance on excessive drinking.
Meg Hamon found her self-confidence declining as she increasingly relied on partying and drinking to cope, a pattern that intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and following a difficult breakup.
"I just never really processed my emotion," Hamon stated. "I really neglected myself mentally and physically... but I just never really noticed how unhappy I was until I started to make a change."
Approaching her 30th birthday, Hamon decided to alter her lifestyle. She has since focused on incorporating regular exercise, including gym workouts and running, into her routine, alongside attending therapy sessions. These changes have significantly improved her well-being.
"Exercise has helped me massively with my confidence... If I'm ever feeling low, a good gym session will always help," Hamon said. She has shared her experiences on social media, hoping to inspire others who may be struggling with similar issues.
"If it inspires one person to make a change, then I think it's really important to do that as well," she noted. "If you get stuck in the same cycle... I just think you can find so many other things to do than going out and just drinking excessively."
Therapist Sally Agathangelou, who has been working with Hamon, noted that such challenges can encompass various issues like drinking, gambling, drug use, or self-harm, all of which can be coping mechanisms. Agathangelou expressed pride in the current generation's openness to seeking therapeutic support.
"I'm really quite proud of this generation because they are very open to therapy," Agathangelou said. "I'm very, very proud of them because I can support, but it's down to them at the end of the day to make that change."