TRAINING
CLIENTS WITH
Personal trainers are uniquely positioned to
both recognise the signs of depression and to
help those suffering its debilitating effects.
WORDS: JAN MARSH & LIONEL PADIAL
orking with depression – is that my job?’ you may ask.
It will definitely come into your job. If you work with
people in any way at all, you will come across
individuals who are depressed. About one in seven suffer from
depression, one in eight take antidepressant medication.
As a personal trainer you are in a unique position to see a
change in mood or notice someone who is stuck and can’t get
motivated.
Depression is sometimes referred to as the common cold
of emotional problems. Everyone feels ‘down’ or miserable at
times, especially in the face of disappointment or loss. Usually,
these feelings pass and we move on in some way. Gradually we
take pleasure in the enjoyable aspects of our life again and the
bad feelings fade.
When depression sets in, however, it feels impossible to
shake off the feelings of gloom and misery, even when something
good happens. Depression is a cluster of mental and physical
symptoms which are more persistent than the occasional offday. The physical signs are disturbances in sleep, appetite and
energy levels, while the mental effects include loss of enjoyment,
lowered motivation and increased feelings of failure and selfcriticism.
At its worst, people describe difficulty concentrating and
thoughts of ending their lives. If a client has either of these signs,
encourage them to seek help from a doctor or psychologist.
Sometimes people need professional treatment before they can
apply the strategies that will help them to help themselves.
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Uncover motivations
If your client lacks motivation or is persistently self-critical, you
will need to sit down for a gentle talk to find out what their inner
world is like. What do they want to achieve and what are the
obstacles? Can your client explain what the important factors are
behind their stated goals? A depressed client may be clutching
at straws to verbalise a reason for wanting to achieve their goal,
so tease out the underlying drivers with some open questions:
How will this goal contribute to their lives? What do they want to
feel inside? Does it fit with their values? What would family and
friends think? Asking these questions can help your client to be
authentic and true to themselves.
NETWORK SUMMER 2016 | 63