u/StrengthTheory

I had a shoulder impingement injury about 3 weeks ago and ever since then I haven't been able to hit the gym consistently.

For the past few weeks I have just been going 1-2 days and hit legs and abs because that's all I can do, any back, chest or arm exercise involves the shoulder joint to some extent and I don't want to worsen the injury so I avoid it. It will probably take 1-2 weeks more to restart any shoulder movements with light weights.

As someone who used to hit 5-6 days a week consistently for the last year this has really messed up with my mind. Watching my body deflate has been soul crushing, I know its mostly glycogen loss (for now), but still the idea of years of work washing away in few weeks feels scary.

Worst part is that I had just unlocked body weight pullups a few days before I got injured. I was so excited about finally be able to ditch the assissted pull up machine and add normal pull ups to my routine, but I guess the universe had other plans.

Physique-wise I know I'll bounce back, its just a matter of time and consistency, but mentally I feel scarred because the stigma of getting injured again will always be there from now on, and it also made me realize how much working out had become a part of my life, and losing it would mean losing myself.

Just to add, no I believe I wasn't ego lifting, I follow strict progressive overload routine, I suspect the injury was due to rushed warmup and lack of carbs and electrolytes because it was a sunday morning and my gym closes early so I decided not warm up shoulders with my usual drill. Lesson learned I guess.

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So my question is for those who have been through injuries in the past, be it gym related or not, how do you cope with it? How do you suppress your mind? How do you stop it from spiraling into depressing thoughts?

Thanks.