If I had a chance to do it over again I would have sought out mental health counseling right after being discharged from the hospital. Instead I waited a year until I finally partnered with a clinical psychologist. I’ve never been depressed before and figured I could macho my way through the initial months of recovery without any kind of intervention. I was so wrong. Four months after being discharged I slid in to a deep depression, even suicidal. I felt like I was falling and there was nothing there to catch me. Depression is a scary place. Fortunately my physician was able to get me stabilized with medicine and a new round of therapies. I had experienced a “second crash” and it took several years of hard work to climb out of that hole of depression. I finally did seek mental health intervention, which I did consistently for the next 6 years. My advice is there are no shortcuts when it comes to the grieving process, and encourage anyone facing a life adversity to seek out mental health support.
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daily inspiration
Nobody ever promised that life would be fair. Curveballs are thrown at us all the time. It could be an incapacitating injury. Maybe it is being diagnosed with a terrible illness. Perhaps it is loss of a loved one. How do you respond to these involuntary events? I submit the best choice is to fight the good fight, aspire, persevere and prevail. Resist the temptation to give in, succumb or surrender. Replace those thoughts with an unwavering commitment to win – choose to win on your terms – and what may appear to be out of reach can actually happen.
I will be speaking at a TEDx event hosted by Bellevue College on February 7. It will be held from 1-5pm at the Carlson Theatre on the main campus. You can get more information about the event at https://www.bellevuecollege.edu/tedx/. I am very excited to speak on the subject of choice, and the title of my talk is ‘I Choose You Choose.’ It will be live streamed as well as taped for future viewing.