One Member’s Inspirational Story of Achievement
One Health Clubs is eager to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our individual members. The following is the inspirational story of member Rebecca Gladding DiFilippo
Lift Weight or Donate — Take the Challenge
By Rebecca Gladding DiFilippo
Many years ago I suffered a devastating bout of depression as the result of a series of uncontrollable events that changed my life forever. It was almost seven years before I realized I was unwell because back then I did not know that depression was an actual illness. It wasn’t just a type of sadness — there was a very physical aspect to this disorder. It wasn’t until I became educated about this insidious illness that I actually understood how much it impacted my physical self.
As a part of my recovery process I joined One Health Clubs, which, at that time was called the Fitness Institute. When I learned that physical activity was imperative to keeping depression at bay, I made the decision to make it a regular part of my lifestyle.
With the help of a personal trainer, a program was developed to address my personal needs and physical exercise became an integral part of my everyday life. I felt great — my mind, body and emotions were all in check.
I continued working out on my own for a few years and then decided it was time to call in a trainer again to help me meet some new goals. I was determined to increase my muscle definition and build more strength.
I started with some new exercises and became excited about the progress. I went from dead-lifting a 45 lb barbell to 135 lbs in just a few months. That success created a desire to do more. I felt challenged and decided to set even higher goals. My self-confidence steadily rose and I was having a lot of fun. I decided to set a goal of 200 lbs for the dead-lift — I weigh only 112 lbs. Each week I felt stronger and with the help of Drew Scott (my trainer), I slowly increased the weights until just a few months ago when I reached 175 lbs. This week I finally reached my goal — I lifted 3 reps of 200 lbs! I was ecstatic.
But there’s something I want to tell you about that happened along the way. One day when we were training, Drew (who knew about my battle with depression years ago) asked me, “What does depression feel like?” At that very moment, I was squatting with 115 lbs on my shoulders. I replied, “Imagine carrying this much weight around and never being able to let it down. That’s what depression felt like for me.” I felt this horrendous weight was slowing me down and crushing me, yet I couldn’t stop it. And he got it. He seemed to really understand the comparison to something physical. That’s when I got the idea to create an awareness campaign about depression; one that people could relate to even if they hadn’t experienced depression. So, I created a video to challenge people to help “Lift the Weight of Depression.” I would like to share this video with you and ask that you be a “Hero” and meet the challenge in the video. It’s a lot easier than it sounds! Please help to make this challenge go viral and help thousands of people who are struggling.
Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIXxzDR2imk
Rebecca DiFilippo has been a member at One Health Clubs since October 2010 and is the founder and publisher of Moods magazine, an educational consumer magazine covering all aspects of mental health. She is also a fine artist, who loves to paint with vibrant colours to express various emotions and feelings. Rebecca is also a mental health advocate with a passion to help others.
Do you have a health and fitness achievement that you would like to share with us and our Members? We would love to hear from you and help inspire others! Please email natalieg@onehealthclubs.com