Five Years Ago I Suffered A Near Suicidal Breakdown. This Is What I Know Now.

Five years ago, while on the longest US carrier deployment in history, I had a near suicidal breakdown from burnout, stress, and pushing myself too hard. I was in treatment for seven months. I was lucky. Then when facing the possibility of being on Anti-depressants for the rest of my life I figured out how to beat depression, anxiety, and panic attacks without drugs. What worked for me was alot of study, research, and strong dedication to my WHY. Which was (and is) to help everyone I met miss out on all pain and frustration all the lost days months and years my depression had caused me.

As a result of all my recovery, all the study and training, writing the book, and generally making myself “the depression dude”, it wasn’t long before I became the Command Suicide Prevention coordinator.

Gotta admit, It was pretty awesome to be able to use my story, and all I had learned to help other people. Now retired, I continue to use the same concepts and techniques in my business Radically Unstuck Consulting.

Here are five things you can do right now which I used to beat depression. Taken together these are pillars upon which you can build to live the life you truly want.

1. Meditation. Meditaiton taught me to be able to sit and watch thoughts vs be the thoughts. I realized the thoughts are just thoughts, and that I don’t have to claim them. Most importantly, I learned that not only are thoughts not mine, I don’t have to be responsible for them.

2. Exercise. When I was battling back, I didn’t even want to talk to people-I was so tired of hearing my voice! So exercising was something that was easy for me. It kept me strong and limber, and of course exercise is proven to help the brain as well. These days I recommend everyone start the day with exercise. I’m not talking about you gotta lift weights so you look like a beast, I’m not saying you gotta run a marathon. I’m simply saying wake up every day and do a tiny bit of exercise (I do planks or pushups) just to start your day with a win. This is a main them of the win stacking concept which I teach and recommend. Regardless, have your day set up so you are hitting AND FEELING wins. Small ones, big ones, notice and celebrate them all.

3. Practice gratitude. When you are depressed, or just stressed, gratitude can seem really hard to come by. When I had my break I was on ship 6000 miles from home, so I just started with being thankful to be able to breathe and see, and went from there. It worked. So. Practice gratitude, like it was paying you money! Cause in a real way it will. So. Right when you wake up, before you even get out of bed, say three things for which you are grateful. Three things. If you don’t have any then start with attributes common to us all like breathing. Win!

4. Know who you are at your best. I didn’t know it but after my break I found out depression is cyclical. The ebb and flow can be hard to notice. So the best thing is to be really clear about your core pursuits? Love hockey, tennis, and playing chess? Whatever they are, know them, and do them. Notice when you are losing interest or appreciation for these. Notice when you stop doing them “cause work”! Work is work but you are you and you NEED time for you. So make sure you are taking that time. Trust me, Burnout leads to a washout and washouts can lead to depression so make time and take time for you.

5. Have a network. I was lucky, I was in the Navy on a ship on deployment, everyone knew my situation, so there was support everywhere. No matter what everyone needs a network. Honor it, appreciate it, understand why it’s important. Even if you don’t deal with depression, being alone is a challenge. This may mean you have to reassess what a network looks like for you. Depending on your situation your parents may not be a part of your network. This doesn’t mean you should go it alone with whatever struggles you are facing-especially depression! Have at least three on your list. Even if one of them is a dog or cat. If you start feeling like you just wanna be alone and not even caring whether you share then look in your journal and see what’s going on in the Garden.

Reach out if I can help. bryan@radicallyunstuck.com

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