It took a few more weeks, but a three-pronged approach helped me to begin feeling more like myself instead of an increasingly depressed teenager.
First, the antidepressants helped get my brain’s chemistry under control. Without these, I am not sure how long it would have taken for my the mood regulation transmitters to get back in line, if that’s even possible on its own.
However, the pills by themselves were not enough. Talking with my therapist, Dr. S, helped me to control and change my negative thoughts. I suffered from major self-image issues and she helped me to reframe how I viewed myself so I could see the incredible young man that I was becoming. Though I never quite got past the self-inflicted “shame” of seeing a therapist, I took the various lessons that Dr. S had taught me to heart and strive to truly embrace them on a daily basis.
The final, pivotal element of change came from a suggestion from Dr. S. I began exercising more. The American Psychological Association suggests that exercise can aid in treating and decreasing depression by helping the body’s natural production of serotonin, along with helping to regulate sleep. I chose to begin running a few miles every day, and this led to me joining the track and cross country teams, which helped my self-esteem and self-worth once I worked my way into varsity levels.
I honestly cannot point to just one of these three variables in helping even me out and alleviate my depression. They were a trio that helped save my life.
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want to join our calls on a regular basis, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all-access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class, and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group, and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
At age 25, Justin Birckbichler was diagnosed with Stage II testicular cancer. Now in remission, he committed to getting the ball rolling on raising awareness of men’s health and testicular cancer through his website A Ballsy Sense of Tumor. Though he no longer has the pair he was born with, his new favorite pairing is humor and education. He was recognized as one of 15 People Who Raised Cancer Awareness in 2017, awarded Best Advocacy/Awareness Cancer Blog in 2017, selected as the Hilarious Patient Leader in the 2018 WEGO Health Awards, and recognized as one of “40 Under 40 in Cancer” in 2019. Justin shares how we can stop dropping the ball on men’s health and how to use humor in awareness, even if it makes you sound like a nut.
