When I was in my early 20s I suffered from depression.  It began in my teens and by 21 I couldn’t take the pain any more I had to do something, anything to make the tears stop. I thought I would share with you the steps I took.

1.  I read every self-help book I could get my hands on.  Some helped, some didn’t.  Almost every one had a little piece of something I could incorporate into my life to help.  A little baby step.  Read every self- help book in our public library.
2. I wrote in my journal every day.  I used assignments from the books.  Some days I just mind dumped on to the pages. I still have that stack of cheap notebooks with every page filled.  Sometimes a read a few pages and think about how far I have come and remember what a struggle it was.
3. I walked and went to the gym everyday.  The stronger my body got the stronger I felt. I still exercise every day for the mental health benefits.
4. I went to counseling. I’ll admit I only went to a few sessions.  It was nice to talk about the sadness without holding anything back.
5. I pushed myself to do those 4 things above. Even when I didn’t want to. And that was almost everyday in the beginning.

It worked for me! I am happy to say!  It didn’t happen over night.  I don’t remember how long it took.  I am thinking years, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel in a few weeks.