Curing it with books, not medicine!

Episode 32
Hello, it's Ao😄

It's finally New Year's Eve.
How is everyone doing?

I've been struggling to survive since I fell ill this year
and was diagnosed with "moderate depression" in July.

Because of that, I have almost no memory of what I did in the first half of this year.
The second half was literally a desperate struggle.

Now that I have recovered quite a bit, I look back and think,
there were many things I gained precisely because I fell ill..

For several months, I could barely move, and all I did was...
fiddle with my smartphone
watch something
read books
and that's about it.

I wrote about that in the [Lethargy] episode below, so please take a read.

Even though it wasn't really sinking in, I read through books.
"Depression", "Psychology", "Mindfulness", "Brain Science", "Habits", "Thinking Methods"...

What state am I in, and what should I do?
I read books to input information little by little,
and then output it through action.

I couldn't just do things because I was told to.
I could only move after reading, understanding, and being convinced by books.

And I feel that the morning walk, which I still continue today, is the most effective.
I don't think I would have felt the effects if I had just done the morning walk because I was told to.

As for the prescribed medicine, I didn't want to rely on it because I felt it wasn't a fundamental solution.

The first one prescribed was medicine I was told to take when I felt strong anxiety.
It wasn't something I had to take a set number of times, so I took 3 or 4 pills and stopped.
I even refused prescriptions from my second visit onwards.
And now, I've stopped going to the clinic too.

I can't explain it well, but I understood thatI wouldn't get better unless I changed my brain,so I made an effort to change my way of thinking, habits, and lifestyle.
For that purpose, reading, morning walks, sleep, morning routines, habit formation and note.

When I went to bed about 2 hours earlier to get more sleep, I actually gained more meaningful time.
A pleasant morning walk.
A morning routine with a clear head.
A relaxed morning.

I take the time I used to spend idly in the evening, do only what I really want to do at that moment, and put the rest into sleep time.
If I don't want to do anything, I'll just lounge around, but I go to bed at a set time.

Forming habits makes life easier.
When life becomes easier, living becomes easier.

And next year,I think I'll stop trying so hard.
I'm thinking of making various things into habits, deciding what not to do, and living more easily.

That was the kind of year-end I had.

This time, it was a story about reaching a major turning point.
Well then everyone, have a happy New Year.

See you later!
It was Ao😄
New Year's Eve, 2023

#Reading
#Habits
#TurningPoint