During a period of reflection after my depression, I began to cement my changes in mindset and was able to continue the pursuit of my goals. I was even emboldened to create new personal goals and aspirations for myself. Here are three new goals that resulted from my depression:
1. Live Long
Reflecting on my experience, I was faced with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I felt guilty because I felt as though I had wasted two precious years of my life- and there was no getting them back. This was when I had an epiphany. I could potentially make it up to myself by living as healthily as I can in order to get the most time out of the rest of my life. My thinking was that with smart lifestyle decisions, I could easily add on at least two years to my life. This was when I consciously decided to commit my life to constantly searching ( in my free time) for ways to optimize my health and longevity.
2. Be Positive
Before my depression, I always admired, and slightly envied, people who just seemed to naturally exude positivity regardless of their life situation. These people were a great source of inspiration to me because I always wanted to embody such a personality… but it just never seemed possible for me. But now, having gone through my depression, which was undoubtedly the darkest time in my life (so far, and probably ever), I find it incredibly easy to be positive and optimistic in almost all situations (without having to fake it). To me, having been so close to death and spending many days and nights thinking about it, every situation in my everyday life now just seems like nothing in comparison.
The funniest thing about this now is that the people who met me after my depression, know me as a very positive person, whereas those who met me before my depression probably have a completely different impression.
3. Improve the Global Public Health/Education System
Looking back, there were so many lifestyle factors that exacerbated my depression and had me unknowingly living an unhealthy life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that my depression could have been avoided- I think it’s normal for people to have an existential crisis at least once in their lives and I know identity crises are very common as well- but I do believe my depression would have been less severe had I been more educated on how to have a healthy mind and body. It was specific aspects of things like nutrition, exercise, sleep and mental health that I felt as though society had failed to educate me about. But it got me thinking… how many more people around the world are unknowingly leading unhealthy lives and are heading down a path that will eventually lead to mental and/or physical suffering? It just feels so wrong.
I know that every country will be different in its education and public health policy, but I believe that this is actually a serious global public health issue which needs to be urgently addressed. Don’t just take my word for it. Non-communicable diseases ( NCDs), better known as chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancers, diabetes etc., are the leading cause of mortality in the world according to the World Health Organization. And fun fact: the majority of these NCDs can be prevented! Your genetics doesn’t play as big of a role as you might think.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the power to fix such big systemic issues… however at the very least, I can make a blog and write about it! So stay tuned to learn more about preventative health!
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