I am Sandhya Chauhan, a 24-year girl and the mantra of my life is Live Travel Eat and Run.

I was a gymnast and preparing for the Olympics. I was well prepared for the same but one day while running I fell down, and my left knee badly injured. I couldn’t walk right. After years of dreaming and working for something, it crushed my spirits. For years after I didn’t do any exercise, gaining around 22 kg, which made me depressed. I accepted the fact and started living life in that way.

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My turning point was when a good friend of mine was running around 5 Km and asked me to come with her. It was a first me after the accident, so the idea of running it together somehow made it less frightening.

Running lets me clear my head. In moments where my depression was at its peak, I found myself starting to turn to run instead of withdrawing from my social life and habits. It was on a run one day where I decided to tell my boyfriend everything, talk to my parents, and gather a support group around me. At the time I wasn’t suicidal but I wonder what would have happened. It’s incredible now that friends and family describe me as a ‘woman who is making her life an incredible adventure.’

I just realized that doesn’t ever, ever be afraid to ask for help. Funks or being panic are normal but if it seems to start lasting forever, it’s not okay. The worst part about depression is that you feel like you’re being unreasonable because you convince yourself there is nothing real to be upset about. But remember, you can’t help it. And the best thing to do for yourself is to find people who support you, cut out the people who don’t, and if you feel like it, go for a run.

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

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