Clinical depression, also known as major depressive disorder, can make even the most routine aspects of daily life unbearably difficult. A chemical imbalance in the brain and environmental factors, such as the loss of a loved one, can either cause or exacerbate the condition.
One woman who contended with both found the best way to deal with her depression was to run away from it.
Nita Sweeney suffered not one, but multiple tragic losses within the span of a single year. She had already been struggling with depression since 1994, but 2007 was hellacious.
First, her niece who had been ill with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, passed away in February 2007.
“It really threw me for a loop, just because it felt so wrong,” Sweeney told The Epoch Times.
A Tragic Series of Events
The second blow came when Sweeney’s husband’s friend passed away from pancreatic cancer in May 2007. In August, the third wave came when Sweeney’s father-in-law passed away. Then, in September, her niece’s father passed away. To make matters worse, her niece’s cat Theo also died.
October was a rough month as well, after her mother’s ex-boyfriend passed away from lung cancer. Then, her mother’s best friend died in November after sustaining a head injury. To end the year, Sweeney’s mother died from surgical complications on Dec. 30, 2007.
Nita Sweeney (R) with friend Sue Nivam. (Courtesy of Sue Nivam)Sweeney’s depression quickly spiraled downward during and after 2007. She found herself having difficulty getting out of bed in the morning and showering. She also found herself overeating, irritable, and struggling to focus. Everyday tasks became unbearable.
For instance, Sweeney had been attending graduate school to get her master’s degree in creative writing and she noticed that the depression was affecting her work. She was trying to bind her thesis together, and became overwhelmed trying to put the pages in the binder.
“I just remember that moment of feeling everything is so hard. I just don’t know if I can do this anymore,” Sweeney recalled.
Running Therapy
In late 2009, Sweeney saw a friend’s social media post about a program called “Couch to 5K” and how running had become fun for her. She saw the post, and realized that she was the same age as her friend and about the same size.
“It planted a seed in the back of my mind,” Sweeney explained.
Once spring arrived and the days became warmer, Sweeney committed herself to start running. She put on old hiking shoes, sweatpants, and a sweatshirt. She thought that she couldn’t do it by herself, so she decided to take her Labrador with her.
Nita Sweeney (L) running with her friend Julie DeBord during the 2012 Columbus Marathon. (Courtesy of MarathonFoto)Sweeney walked out her front door, and realized she didn’t want anyone to see her. She went down into a ravine, and ran 60-second sets with five-minute intervals. She ran three times a week, and increased the intensity of her workout over time.
Within a few weeks, she was running faster and faster. After about six months, she was running 5K races.
“I could sort of see my progress, and that, for me, helped. That was a little bit of a sense of achievement,” Sweeney explained.
Runner’s High
Now when Sweeney is running, she feels like she’s flying. The first mile is always the hardest, but after that, the running takes over.
Running gives Sweeney a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. Physically, she experiences what is called a “runner’s high,” where everything feels a bit lighter for her.
By Oct. 12, 2012, Sweeney was running her first marathon in Columbus, Ohio. At first, she was fearful that she wouldn’t finish. But when she turned the last corner and saw the finish line, she took off.
“We turned that corner and it was just like somebody shot me full of adrenaline, and I started sprinting,” Sweeney remembered.
Nita Sweeney (L) with her friend Julie DeBord as they cross the finish line of the 2012 Columbus Marathon. (Courtesy of Sue Nivam)In fact, she crossed the finish line and completely passed by her friends who were holding a “Go Nita” sign.
To date, Sweeney has run three full marathons, 26 half-marathons, and 60 shorter races. While Sweeney continues to battle depression, running has immensely helped her contend with it.
Her book, entitled “Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink,” recounts her experience battling depression, and how running has become an effective tool to contend with the condition.
Sweeney says isn’t stopping anytime soon, and was to run another half-marathon in Cleveland, on May 19.
“I always like to be training for a race. I like to have that thing in the future to work for.”
