The Path to Dealing

Anxiety and Depression are two incredibly difficult and draining mental illnesses that take an insane amount of time and care into treating. 

In order to truly start treating your illness(es) you need to come to terms with the fact that it isn't going to be magically fixed overnight, regardless of how much you want the easy fix - there really is no such thing; you need to understand that this is going to be a life long struggle. Every day you are going to have to make the choice to fight the darkness. Some days it’s going to be an easy decision and farther down the road you're not even going to be thinking about making the choice, it's just going to be made the second you get out of bed and on with your day. But until then, you'll have to lay there for a moment and commit to changing your way of life, to commit to getting better. I know there's days when the commitment doesn't seem worth it and all you want to do is give up, crawl back into bed and call it quits and honestly, I think that on some of those horrid days you really should become one with your sheets and vow to never leave the confines of your room ever again. Now why do I think that you should do this? It's because there are good days and there are bad days, and then there are really really shitty days; and sometimes the only way of knowing the differences between those days is having spent time getting lost in them. Embrace every day, especially the shitty ones - lay in bed, cry your heart out and when you wake up the next day, vow that today will be better than the last. When you have the moment, where you've lived on the dark side and wished that you had spent your time in the sun is when you will really start putting care into making that decision to get better. Soon that choice every morning will come a little easier. Now once you've crossed the Choice hurdle don't expect a calm ride from then on out. Believe me when I say that your journey is only just beginning. 

Congratulations on making the choice to get up and fight, now reward yourself with a good healthy breakfast. Maybe some fruit and yogurt or a tasty protein smoothie? Now I know I’m pretty hypocritical when I say go healthy and trust me when I say I'm working on it and so should you. As much as you want a thousand cups of coffee and a pound of cereal, try and consider minimizing how much of that you actually have. Challenge yourself and switch things up. Have that cup of coffee but only one, drink herbal teas with honey instead of sugar, eat more fruits and vegetables. Go for that walk you might have dreaded. Take up mediation or yoga. Find a fun activity to occupy your down time, whether it be reading or painting or learning the guitar. Practice your breathing and positive thinking. Again, I need to stress that this doesn't have to all happen overnight. Pick one of these things or other activities that you think can enrich and improve your way of life and do it, do it until you don't even have to think about it, do it until it's natural and a daily occurrence - then pick your next obstacle and tackle that. Be consistent. Find your limits. Once you know what works and helps you be the person that you want to be, find a way to keep it in your life and that person will come more naturally. Eventually you'll find that there are more good days then bad, and soon the shitty days won't even exist. As long as you are willing to get better and you believe that it is possible, it will happen. 

The Path to Dealing isn't anywhere near simple. It's on a long, winding and narrow road that's going to last for a very long time. There are going to be moments where it gets easy and ones where it gets hard but as long has you hang on and stay dedicated to treating your mental illness(es) you will achieve the good life you dream about. It's real and waiting for you to catch up. All you need to do is make the choice and everything else will follow.