How to Heal Depression in Days: An Inspirational Story
I want to share a story of a man who healed years of depression in days. His name is Jimmy Corsetti and you may know him from his YouTube channel Bright Insight.
Jimmy is a guy who has a YouTube channel mainly devoted to exploring the mysteries of ancient civilisations. But he’s also an Iraq war veteran and he seems intent on making the world a better place by promoting transparency in everything we do.
He recently uploaded a video where he tells his story of how to heal depression. You will learn in the video, that Jimmy was depressed for a few years but he managed to cure himself almost miraculously.
“I suffered from depression for years, nothing helped. But these four natural things cured my depression, almost miraculously, and within days. It was unbelievable, and virtually free. I know many people need to hear this. If it worked for me, it can work for others.”, Jimmy argues in his video description.
It’s Jimmy’s wish to share the video with people who may need it, so here it is for you to watch. After you’ve watched the video, read on as I will break down the points Jimmy makes and give you my own tips and tricks for each topic.
You Are Reading This For A Reason
Done watching the video? Great, let’s move on!
This video by Jimmy was a show stopper for me. It just so happens that as this video dropped, I was in the middle of writing a series of blogposts about the causes and cures for depression. Talk about a coincidence!
But I have come to realise that once you start living your life following your purpose and being in touch with your “true self”, these sorts of things just start to happen. Almost miraculously the answers and material I am looking for will appear in front of my eyes.
What, do you think you are reading this by accident? There are no accidents and no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason and it happens perfectly for you at just the right moment. You have guided yourself to this blogpost subconsciously, for this serves a purpose for you at this very exact moment.
How To Heal Depression: Disclaimer
The causes and mechanisms for depression are many and we are all unique. The healing process will be unique to you and there is no “one size fits all” treatment. Please seek professional help if you suffer from depression, but perhaps there’s something here that can help you with your healing process.
And as much as antidepressants help people, they have a high failure rate and may come with some nasty side effects. Therefore I suggest that you should seek to cure the cause rather than to treat the symptoms.
As much could be said about your whole life. If you are not happy, don’t try to treat your unhappiness by filling your surroundings with stuff you can buy, instead seek to cure what causes you to be unhappy.
It All Starts With A Decision
As always, the healing process starts with a decision. I know it is hard to take action when you are feeling down, but start small. Just make a decision that you will get better. You will be happy again. Decide that you will take one tiny step today towards healing yourself. That’s all it takes to start.
Think about it. Do you know people that have quit smoking just by deciding to quit? I know many. All it takes is a decision.
That decision, with just a tiny bit of belief to go along with it, will propel you on your way to a new, healthier and happier version of yourself.
It’s the same with everything in your life. A Decision, and the belief that you can do it, will change your life.
Onwards to Jimmy’s depression healing methods.
1. Dry Sauna
Being from Finland, I should know how beneficial it is to go to the sauna. And of course I do. I love it and go to the sauna as often as I can. For me it is first and foremost a relaxing experience, which no doubt helps reduce stress.
Sauna of course has many scientifically proven benefits, including reduced risk of
- high blood pressure
- cardiovascular disease
- neurocognitive diseases
It can even lower mortality and ameliorate conditions such as
- Arthritis
- headache
- flu
But I must confess that I’ve never heard of going to the sauna to heal depression!
If there’s a chance that it will help you heal depression, you might as well try it. There are no negative side effects, but if you have cardiovascular problems consult with your doctor first.
Start small, try it one time for 15 minutes and build up from there to a minimum of 15 minutes three times a week.
It may feel uncomfortable at first, but trust me, it’s far more pleasurable than cold exposure. Going to a hot sauna is way easier than dipping yourself to a bathtub full of ice.
Each has its benefits of course, but if there’s one habit I find difficult, it’s exposing myself to the cold (even though the winters in Finland can be really cold and you can’t really lock yourself indoors for months, so exposure to cold is kinda mandatory, brrrr!).
Try taking a dry sauna (natural heat) for 15 minutes. This can be one of your goals which we will discuss in point #3.
If it worked for Jimmy it can work for you too.
2. Raise Your Testosterone Levels
This concerns men especially, but women will benefit too (men and women both have testosterone and estrogen in their bodies and there must be a healthy balance between the two hormones).
Low testosterone level is a problem that is caused by our laid back lifestyle.
There’s no need to strain ourselves physically, so we get sluggish and weak. I noticed this myself when I started weight training. I thought I was in a decent shape since I wasn’t overweight, but the truth was that my muscles were very weak and I quickly noticed a significant improvement in my mental health as my physical fitness started to improve.
The overall significance of physical fitness for your health in general cannot be overstated. Your mind and body are connected and one constantly affects the other. If you are not physically fit, your mental health will likely suffer from it too.
That’s not to say that everyone should be ripped and built like models, but some amount of intense physical exercise is required every week in order for you to function in a healthy way as nature intended.
Resistance training has the most benefits for your health as the greater your muscle mass the greater your longevity and better the health. Muscle mass is your amino acid (protein) storage and amino acids are needed to fight off many diseases.
Lifting Heavy Is The Key
Leg exercises are the key here and lifting as heavy as you can. But again, start small. Hire a personal trainer to teach you the right moves and make you a programme you can follow. If you can’t pay for it, then there are a multitude of videos on YouTube that can help you get started.
Just make sure you get things right from the start, otherwise you risk injuring yourself and that will only make things worse.
You can exercise at home as well if going to the gym feels difficult. Even without weights. When I started working out at home and doing leg exercises, my go-to exercise was the Bulgarian split (lift one leg on a bench behind you and do one-legged squats).
There was no way I could even do it with weights when I started. Resistance bands are a good and cheap option too for working out at home.
But there are many benefits from going to the gym. The first and most obvious one in this context is that if you choose a gym with sauna, you can combine resistance training for boosting testosterone levels and the relaxing, depression melting, effects of sauna all in one go.
Then there is the added benefit of seeing other people, which we will discuss in point #4.
3. Purpose And Goals
Jimmy says purpose fixes everything and I’m inclined to agree. When you feel like you’re fulfilling your purpose, everything you do becomes meaningful and effortless.
Well, effortless in a sense that you do not have to dig deep for motivation. You can’t wait to get started. Better yet, if you can make your purpose your job, you will never have to work another day in your life. Why? Because it does not feel like work.
I know it sounds like something life coaches or motivational speakers say just to motivate you, but it’s true! I have noticed this myself. It did not happen instantly and it took months to get into this mindset permanently, but it can and it will happen if you persist.
But purpose does not have to be something grand as Jimmy says. It can be something as “simple” as being the best parent that you can. Raising your children so that they can cope with anything life throws at them can be the highest of purposes!
Commit To Your Purpose And Amazing Things Will Happen
You know what helped me when I was going through hard times? Volunteering at an animal shelter. Socialising feral cats. What an important mission, what grand purpose! Well, it was for me. That’s all that matters. Find what purpose you want to serve and commit fully.
It’s okay to change your mind. Purpose and goals can change. The underlying purpose may stay the same but the methods may change, like I shifted my focus from helping animals to helping human beings.
Actually I started with feral cats, then moved on to teaching children and now I’m on a mission to rid the world of anxiety and depression. This happened naturally as I started to follow my purpose and passion of helping others.
I, Jimmy and many others are proponents of finding meaning and purpose because it has worked so well for us.
I lost all traces of unhappiness once I started living my purpose. You may want to check this out, I have actually written about how Johann Hari drives in the same point.
Setting Goals
Setting goals is another thing that Jimmy mentions. That’s a good one too and I have written about setting goals the right way here.
Set small goals that you can achieve, that way you can start winning right away. If you feel unmotivated and find it difficult to do anything, make it your goal to take out the trash. That way you walk, go outside and get some fresh air. That’s a win and enough for a goal.
Build up from there. Make one bigger goal and decide that you will do it. As mentioned in the points above (and as Jimmy suggests) you can make it your goal to go to the gym and try out the sauna. One at a time, no need to rush into working out at the same time.
Your goal can just be coming up with a goal. Write down one thing that you will do. That’s a small win right there!
For finding your purpose you can try things like meditation.
4. Be Around People
We all need time to be alone every now and then, but we are inherently social beings and thrive on social connections. I know it can be hard when you are depressed, but being around other people will help you feel better in the long run. This Jimmy acknowledges too in his video.
As always, you don’t have to leap right into the deep end. Start small with this one too. Call one of your friends or family members. Have a short conversation. Maybe invite someone over to your place.
Build on small successes and work your way into going out and having a meeting with some of your friends.
My views and tips for meaningful social connections can be found right here:
Why Friends Are So Important: Social Connections And Happiness
5. Spend Time Outside And Clean Up Your Diet
The previous four points were the main points Jimmy wanted to make, but he also had some “bonus points” which I have numbered here #5 and #6.
This is one of those things that we all know intuitively. Going outside and eating a healthy diet is something we all know we should do, yet it’s so easy to stay indoors and eat fast food. Still, adjusting your diet even just a tiny bit and going out for a walk for 15 minutes a day will yield massive benefits over time.
Going outside for just two hours every week will bring benefits for your physical and mental well-being, so it’s a no-brainer.
Going outside brings with it an additional benefit that you find hard to get anywhere else: Vitamin D. Exposure to sunlight is the only thing that activates vitamin D production in your body. It is crucial to have enough vitamin D, yet 75 % of the world population suffers from vitamin D deficiency.
We only get adequate amounts of vitamin D from the sun during the summer (especially in the northern hemisphere) or in the form of a supplement.
Your Mind Works Only As Well As Your Body
Vitamin D is the most important vitamin for the immune system. It also affects your energy levels.
Last autumn was the first time when I measured my vitamin D levels from a blood sample and I was shocked to find out that even after the Finnish summer, which was exceptionally warm and sunny, I only had my vitamin D levels just above the recommended minimum amount.
I started supplementing and for the first time in years felt energetic and didn’t have much of flu symptoms during the entire winter.
I bet adequate vitamin D levels will even help fight depression. I have no proof of this, it’s just a hunch and (just as anything that might help heal depression) worth a try.
But perhaps the more important point here is, once again, the connection between your mind and body. You are what you eat and a clean diet is one of the most beneficial things you can do to improve your health, both physical and mental (as they go hand in hand).
There will be a whole page about health on this website, but for now, take a look at this post here and scroll down to the section Lack of physical health / fitness . There I explain the cornerstones of a healthy diet.
Of course you can also search around the internet to find out a clean diet that works for you.
(I’m not affiliated with Wildfit, I just recommend it because it works)
6. Belief Is Everything
This is the final point Jimmy makes and it’s an important one. It should really be number one on the list, but hey, better late than never.
I try my best to explain the importance of your beliefs in the Happiness On Demand eBook (downloadable from the sidebar and below this post) as well as on this page.
If you have just the tiniest amount of belief that you can change your life, you will empower yourself to make a lasting change.
You were happy at one point in your life. Seek the belief inside yourself that you can be happy and free of depression again. I encourage you to read the eBook and the page about beliefs. It may very well be all you need to make a shift in your beliefs.
Thoughts Become Beliefs
But beliefs can be a tough bunch and may require subconscious “re-programming”. A belief is something you just have, it’s not something you can get.
But on the other hand, what you think will eventually form into a belief and what you think will be influenced by the way you look at things, i.e. your perspective of life. You can change your perspective by increasing your awareness.
Jimmy leaves us with a message:
“Depression is a battle against yourself. You can fight your way out of this.”
“You always have a choice. Make a choice that you will get better. You can do this.”
Powerful and true words from a man who beat depression.
If you need some inspiration for making a decision to start anew, here’s a post that can help.
And I hope that this post has been helpful. All thanks to Jimmy really for speaking his mind and having the courage to tell his story.
Make a decision to be happy. You can do it! I believe in you!
Conclusion
How to heal depression: Jimmy’s tips for healing (complimented with my experiences):
It all starts with a decision. Make a decision to do whatever little you can to get better.
Try going to a sauna three times a week for a minimum of 15 minutes.
Boost your testosterone levels with resistance training
Try to find meaning and purpose in your life. Think about it and then take even just a tiny step towards living that purpose in your daily life
Be around people.
Clean up your diet and go outside for at least 2 hours every week (all at once or in small increments).
Belief is everything. If you have even the tiniest amount of belief that you can get better, you can get better. Work on your beliefs if you must. It does not matter what you believe in as long as you believe that you can get better.
Disclaimer
The entire contents of this blog are based upon the opinions of the author. It is intended for informational and educational purposes only. The information in this blog is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care professional before trying any of the products or methods based on this content. I cannot guarantee that you will be free of stress, anxiety or depression, or that you will be happy. I simply want to share with you what I have discovered during my twenty years of seeking happiness and what has worked for me may not work for you.
