Longest you've had to be away from the gym because of an injury?

[Rawsteel88]

As the title says, what's the longest you've been forced to stop training, what was the injury and how did you cope with the strength and muscle loss?

When i was 26 (5 years ago) i had to stop completely for almost two years after eight years of hard work because of a lumbar disc bulge and cervical disc hearniation. It was without a doubt two of the worst years of my life, since the training was a BIG part of my identity, heck, i even worked in a gym back then. So the "identity crisis", chronic pain and HUGE muscle loss sure took a toll on my mental health, especially my confidence. But in the end of 2017 i could start training again, but with "back friendly" exercises that didn't put any mentionable amount of pressure on my spine, and i actually managed to build back around 90% of what i lost. Ironically i'm back in the same boat now and in the process of loosing it all again, but this time because of tendon and muscle injuries that so far have forced me to three months of rest, and it will probably be another two before i can slowly work my way back in to it. Life sure can be a bitch sometimes.