Sobriety
If I had any chance of getting back on my feet it had to start with sobriety. After my injury I used alcohol to stay calm. I leaned into alcohol relying on it to give me relief from stress, anxiety, anger, fear, depression and hopelessness. I became dependent on alcohol to get through my day.
Faith
In today’s world Faith is hard to find Especially when YOU are suffering or witnessing someone suffering.
It’s even harder when YOU hear others debating Gods existence. Somehow talking about faith
became unpopular.
It is your decision, as an individual human being, to have faith in a higher power or not. YOU
are responsible for YOUR personal beliefs and what role it plays in YOUR life
Medication
When I was prescribed meds, at first, I didn’t like the idea. But I did know that I had to follow through on taking meds to help myself. I had to keep any negative variables in my life under control so I could truly work on myself.
.
Meditation
Prior to my injury I had not meditated. While first recovering I was encouraged by doctors, my wife, and family to start.
Immediate problem – “If I can’t stop thinking about being shot, how am I going to sit still and make my mind stop to meditate?”
At first, I didn’t even try meditating, but eventually I got so desperate and was in enough emotional pain that I would do anything.
Start slow.
Fitness/Nutrition
My wife began teaching me how to walk before she would go to work. We would literally walk from one driveway on the street to the other. Bit by bit. After a few months I started to try to jog, again driveway to driveway on the street. My wife also got me into a gym.
Since that time I have lost approximately 90 pounds, have a resting heart rate of 65, great blood pressure, and maintain a healthy diet
Therapy
I strongly encourage ANYONE to take part in therapy.
When I first started with therapy, I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t want to talk to a stranger about how I was feeling. I figured my private matters were my own, and I didn’t need to discuss them.
Again, desperation to get out of the situation I was in led me to buying into therapy. I was having thoughts about giving up on life, and I started talking about it with my therapist. I figured this was better than scaring my wife, family, and friends. I constantly thought, “Is life even worth this”?
