How I Escaped A Recent Depression (And How To Spend Free Time) | How To Beast

How I Escaped A Recent Depression (And How To Spend Free Time)

 




I’ve been in Spain for the last two weeks. I’m here visiting family.

While I’ve been here the amount of free time I’ve had has been
through the roof. I’m only working a couple hours a day for my IT job,
and I don’t have to train any personal training clients.

I’ve used a lot of this time to work on a new book I’m writing. And
I’ve used another chunk of it to spend time with family, of course.
However, the amount of free time I have is still exponentially more than
I’m used to.

Too Much Free Time Can Cripple You

The first day or two, this free time felt liberating, like I could
just bask in the sun of southern Spain, swim laps in the rooftop pool,
and enjoy life. But this quickly changed. I soon found myself face up,
on my bed, staring at the ceiling for hours straight. My mind wandered
to places that it should never wander. I began to feel crippled by
obsessive thought patterns about stupid things:

– How was I going to pass the next three weeks I’m here?

– What’s going to happen with this girl I’ve been seeing in the states the past month or so when I return?

– Should I continue working on my business, blog, and books or strike into new territory?

– Should I train my clients privately when I return or sacrifice some
income and do it at a gym that can provide health insurance and a
membership?

At the surface, these things don’t seem so bad. But the thoughts they
led to became increasingly marked by insecurity. I questioned my
self-worth, my progress, and the value of my life. I can’t rationally
explain how I got from point A (the type of thoughts listed above) to
point B (the depressive thoughts that developed), but I think you can
probably relate.

My Initial Attempt At Treatment

After experiencing this shit for a few days in a row, I realized it
was something I needed to address. Otherwise, this could get worse and
worse, and I’d end up wasting my time in beautiful Spain worrying about
pointless bullshit.

So I began to meditate whenever this pattern started to emerge – and
I’d feel immediate relief. However, I’d stay inside working on my book
or some IT work and just minutes later my mind would wander into the
abyss of negative thoughts. I’d try to pair this meditation with
affirmations and positive self talk, but this served as a temporary fix
just the same.

Then I Took Action (READ: Got The Fuck Outside And Did New Things)

I finally said FUCK IT, this surface level treatment isn’t doing
SHIT. And I decided that I would do something new, OUTSIDE of the house,
every single day. Yesterday I went pedal boating on the river with my
brother:



Today I’m going to go out shopping and talking to strangers, and then
connect with an old friend for drinks tonight. Tomorrow I’m hitting up a
water park with my brother. Sunday, to a Sevilla futbol game. And next
week I scheduled a trip to Marrakech, Morocco that will be an adventure.

It Was An Incredible Reminder Of How Fragile And Susceptible To Depression We All Are

This isn’t a situation I’d been in for a while. In the states, I’ve
been so busy between work, women, habits, and business that I haven’t
had the time to think so much. I developed an inaccurate self-image of
invincibility and unshakable confidence. I WASN’T PREPARED TO BE ALONE
WITH MY THOUGHTS FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.

While the treatment for this condition is essentially the same thing
that I’d been doing at home (ie. constantly doing things), it was an
amazing reminder of just how mortal I really am.

If you’ve been feeling stuck lately, I highly recommend you check out my new online bootcamp 28 DAYS TO ALPHA. It will get you taking MASSIVE ACTION and feeling vastly more CONFIDENT in less than a month. Click HERE for more info.