"Playing pickleball eased my depression & anxiety!"

For decades, Mary Jo Cline lived in a fog of despair and talk therapy and prescription meds did little to help. Then one day, she stumbled upon people playing pickleball, and when she gave the game a try, her whole life changed

- Risa Doherty

You need to come home,” Mary Jo Cline choked, calling her husband at work. Mary Jo had suffered from depression on and off for years, but after giving birth to her second child in 1995, it worsened. This day, she just couldn’t stop crying.

Realizing she needed help, Mary Jo checked into an 8-week outpatient program and started taking prescription antidepressants.

But despite the program and ongoing therapy, Mary Jo continued to suffer through years of sadness, anxiety and worry about her self-worth. Her depression became even more intense as she lost loved ones and fought two battles with cancer.

At times, Mary Jo was impatient and even hostile, and her brain fog made it hard to get through a normal day. She became socially withdrawn, and when her daughters got older, she would take them to school, go back to bed and count the hours until the day would end.

Doctors encouraged her to get out and exercise, but Mary Jo wasn’t naturally athletic. Also, she suffered from neuropathy and needed medication for chronic nerve pain. No matter what type of exercise she tried, she never could stick with it for very long.