My Journey to Recovery: Hitting Rock Bottom to Recovery

Introduction

• Life hit rock bottom about a year ago due to health reasons.
• Faced severe functional issues: couldn’t go outside, barely ate, and isolated in bed for months.
• Experienced a significant loss: 20 lbs weight loss, many friends.
• Goal during this period was simply to feel normal again.
• After one year and 93 days, making progress but health issues still linger.

Step 1: Clean Up Your Act

• Recognized the relationship between environment and mental health.
• Messy environments reflect internal state.
• Initial small changes made:
  • Cleaned room and workspace
  • Took care of hygiene and laundry
  • Bought new clothes
• Result: Gained a sense of agency and ability to change.

Step 2: Lessen Screen Usage

• Average screen time was 11-13 hours daily.
• Engaged in passive activities: watching movies, scrolling social media.
• Realized lack of original thoughts due to constant consumption of media.
• Took action:
  • Used two phones—"Kale Phone" and "Crack Phone".
  • Kale phone had essential apps; Crack phone had all distractions.
• Result: Reduced screen time to about 1-2 hours daily.

Step 3: Try Out Healthy Habits

• Faced anxiety attacks from social situations after isolation.
• Experimented with various habits:
  • Journaling (3 days)
  • Practicing gratitude (1 week)
  • Joined therapy (3 months)
• Other activities:
  • Gym (6 months)
  • Meditation (9 months)
• Therapy proven to be vital for personal growth.

Step 4: Figure Out What You Want

• Needed direction beyond just wanting to feel normal.
• Identified key life areas of focus: relationships, fun, career, finances, health.
• Set goals divided into ceiling and floor levels for manageability.
• Shifted focus from big end goals to smaller input-focused actions.

Step 5: Build Your Schedule

• Life comprises ordinary days; optimizing everyday life leads to success.
• Identified ideal structure for typical days:
  • Prioritize career, relationships, fun, health, finances.
  • Used calendar to visualize priorities.

Step 6: Do What You Say You're Going to Do

• Importance of commitments: doing what you plan builds self-trust.
• Consistency in actions yields overall confidence and progress.
• Focused on treating oneself kindly, acknowledging that harsh self-criticism is counterproductive.

Step 7: Consistency Over Everything

• Health wasn't 100%, but consistency of habits was key to recovery.
• Simple habit of walking (starting with 1 minute) became a cornerstone for rebuilding health.

Step 8: Reflect on Progress

• Rely on reflections to acknowledge growth from experiences.
• Mention of the book “The Myth of Sisyphus,” emphasizing that struggle towards goals is valuable.
• Final note: Appreciate the journey and growth that comes with overcoming challenges.

Conclusion

• Encouragement to others dealing with similar struggles to reflect and pursue their goals.