Building a New Life Plan After Depression
“Human beings are like tea bags. You don’t know your own strength until you get into hot water.” This was the conclusion of one of the American hostages held in Iran for 444 days.
It’s an idea that people who have been through a tough experience – such as depression – can easily understand. You learn a great deal about your own strength and your capacity to do what it takes to get better.
In the months following the lifting of depressive symptoms, people on antidepressant medicine often feel well enough, strong enough, and secure enough in who they are to make important changes in the way they live their lives. When they look ahead, what they see is not simply “more of the same” but an expansion of their possibilities.
The Future as Opportunity
Planning for the future can be a joyful experience, though it may also produce butterflies in the stomach that come from realizing that you may not know exactly what you want to do next. A good way to start planning is to do a mini self-assessment, considering answers to such questions as:
When you first ask yourself these questions, it may be difficult to come up with answers. But take your time, think about them, and you may find answers.
One man explained that he is now able to look at his life as something that encompasses more than illness. Before his recovery from depression, he had only one focus in his life – feeling bad. Now he looks at the “big picture” and allows himself time to stop and reassess many areas of his life as he moves forward in wellness. According to him, proper diagnosis and compliance with his prescribed antidepressant medicine made recovery from depression possible, and his determination to stay well fuels his continued progress.
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