In a given year, there are 7.7 million adults who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, 16.1 million with major depressive disorder and 3.3 million with persistent depressive disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
Fabian Patterson of Change Iz Fitness in Kapolei.
Image credit: Esther Patterson / Captured Imagery).
Those staggering numbers suggest that we all might know people who are suffering silently.
The good news, though, is that mental illnesses such as depression and PTSD can be successfully treated.
One person in Hawaii who battled through PTSD is now helping others, whether they suffer from a mental illness or not. His name is Fabian Patterson, an Army veteran who did three tours of combat duty and who found his way out of the darkness through fitness.
Now, he is a personal trainer who owns Change Iz Fitness in Kapolei.
“One night, I was sitting on the sofa in the midst of a deep depression about to commit suicide,” Patterson told KHON2 in a recent TV interview. “I didn’t know what that all meant. The very next day I decided to do something about it and fitness was the outlet for me. I eventually went to see a psychologist. … Seeing a counselor and working out, together, I was able to use both and pull myself out of that dark space. Fitness is good, psychology is good. You put them both together and it forms a whole different dynamic.”
Now that the New Year is here, maybe this is a good time for anyone struggling with mental health to seek treatment from the medical community. Or maybe going the workout route can help. There’s no guarantees, but Patterson may be able to guide you.
“Everything starts in the mind,” he told KHON2. “Most of the clients I have and most of the people I come across, a lot of the issues that they struggle with has nothing to do with the actual workout itself. It’s mental illness that they deal with that’s preventing them from being healthy and preventing them from going to the gym or eating the things they need to eat to be healthy and fit.”
You can find Patterson on Instagram — ChangeIzFitness — or go to his home page at ChangeIzFitness.com.
On the site, Patterson describes himself and his fitness philosophy: “As a personal trainer, I pride myself with the importance of health and living life from a holistic approach. I believe that being healthy isn’t just about physical appearance. It’s about how you feel and care for yourself mentally and emotionally. Therefore, it is important to implement or marry mental, emotional and physical health to create the perfect training programs.”
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Author’s note: My son Elijah, who graduated from Chaminade in May, knows Patterson, who is a student at the university. My wife Vince met Patterson through business networking. Both of them mentioned Fabian to me as a possible story idea. In my Zoom meeting with Fabian a few months ago, I mentioned I would do two things — write a story about him and sign up for workout sessions. The first one is done. The second one is still relatively high on the list of things to do.
