Staying motivated with injuries

[HarpoonTang]

When I was younger I had the motivation of a teenage boy trying to get with the sexy girl in school. I severed my leg and still managed to push through and kill it for years. Well, Fast forward 7 years. I was in a pretty bad accident several months ago. Ended up herniated 2 discs and fracturing my spine. Initially I was only going to be down for two months absolutely NO GYM. This was hard enough. Then when I went for medical release my doctor put me out for another 3 months. I can now do extremely light workout 2 times a week, down from 7 intense. My issues are that I have bad pain shooting up my back, lose feeling in my legs, and sometime partially lose functionality.

I stayed fairly optimistic until about a week ago. I have had several lumbar injections and minor orthoscopic surgeries, and developed bad stretch marks that span half my stomach. I have only gained about 3 pounds and was told this is a side effect as cortisone can cause skin to lose elasticity. I have also been on heavy pain meds to be able to function. I guess all this combined stress has made me incredibly insecure, depressed, and won't take my shirt off in front of my wife anymore. I am about 242lbs 6'0 at around 18% BF (calipers). I know a big issue is pain meds and lack of mobility, but what would you guys recommend to help ease my mind, or some encouragement?


Sorry for the flow, pain meds make it difficult to articulate.

[GreekGod69]

Brah find another hobby in the interim it will take your mind off things (Srs) (preferably not involving straining your body obv).

Also just because something isn't cool doesn't mean it's "beta" like if u want to then try something like knitting. No one will judge. If they do they're just *******s, ignore.

Best of luck op.

[YoungYetWise]

Here's a couple mottos I follow that have always been helpful.
"If you can't control it, don't worry about it."
And "The less you care, the happier you'll be."
Follow both of these as they're very effective. As for your injury; stay strong, do something to occupy yourself like a hobby, volunteering, hanging with friends, watching movies, go out to eat with your wife, etc. If it helps you feel any better, I've had 6 surgeries, dozens of hospitalizations, almost died 3 times, and over 10 medical conditions (2 severe/rare). It all began when I was 8 after a life threatening injury, but now I continue to thrive because life is too short and I have more goals to achieve. You can too. Chin up. Oh, and meditate. It works wonders for stress.