Welcome!
The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back. – Henry Rollins
I’m Mindi. I’m happily married to my best friend, Roger. And we have a blended family of four children.
Here at Lifting Makes Me Happy, you will find posts that are honest, practical and helpful to your soul, your body and your mental health. Or at least, that’s my goal.
Some things you should know about me:
I have workout ADD.
I don’t necessarily tend to stick with one type of workout for very long. I began my fitness journey with traditional bodybuilding. I then ventured into Les Mills Pump and other home strength training programs by Beachbody. My latest obsession has been CrossFit. I’ve been following CrossFit-style programming from home since August of 2021. I think the constant varying of workouts keeps me hooked!
I am a depression/anxiety fighter and sexual abuse survivor.
Since I write about these issues on the blog, I feel like it’s important that you know why. Sexual abuse introduced clinical depression into my life. I’ve been on meds, and I’ve tried natural remedies. Natural remedies are what I’ve chosen and a huge part of that for me is lifting weights. Lifting makes me feel lighter mentally.
Fitness has not always been a part of my life.
I didn’t start regularly working out until I started this blog, and I was 25 years old. I don’t always love working out either, but I do it because it helps me get stronger mentally and physically.
Fitness and personal development has helped get me where I am today.
Personal development has helped with my motivation and energy – two sidekicks that depression loves to take away. Some people laugh off “self-help”, but when you’ve been living in hell and have spent years forming negative habits, telling yourself lies, and ruminating on everything that is negative, personal development can help you form new habits that will absolutely change your life.
Why I started blogging:
I started in 2008 to keep myself accountable to workouts after having my second son via C-section. What keeps me motivated to write these days is that I always wished I could find a blog that I could relate to, one that was about fitness but that touched on mental health and personal development too. I’ve struggled to find them, so here I am.
If I can help one person begin a fitness journey of their own, that’s huge.
What you can expect:
Most of the content here is related to fitness, home workouts, personal development, depression and anxiety. Like you, my past has its fair share of struggles and disappointments, but this blog is mostly filled with hope, determination, joy and love.
When I do write about something difficult, I always try to share the lesson or key takeaway that I learned from it. I also try to remember to include a disclaimer at the top warning of more serious content.
I don’t claim to know everything, and I’m not a professional; I just love to share what I learn along the way. I’m just a girl who loves to write, create, lift, work hard and use my real-life experience with depression and healthy living to give hope to those who struggle, and to use my teeny tiny part of the web to make the internet a more positive, happy, helpful place.
Some posts to get you started:
- #1 CrossFit for Beginners Program Women Can Do from Home
- 11 Unique Ways to Get Motivated While Struggling with Depression
- How to Have Time & Motivation for Regular Workouts
- 20-Minute Treadmill Arms Workout
- How to Journal for Therapy + Effective Strategies You Can Start Using Right Now
- 22 Best Guided Journals for Mental Health
Thank you so much for visiting.
xo Mindi
Where you can find me:
I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become. – Carl Jung