After a rough year and a half, I found myself at the lowest point I could remember. Work was shutting down, relationships were breaking up or just stalled out, and my mental health was deteriorating. It looked like this might be the end of my life as I knew it — or that it would only get worse from here on out.
But then something miraculous happened: I got help with an addiction, started therapy to work through some unresolved childhood issues, and began reconnecting with old friends who gave me much-needed social support. And soon enough everything in my life turned around.
While I'm still a work in progress, I haven't been this happy and optimistic about my life in over a year. So, inspired by [zen habits](http://zenhabits.net/), I thought I'd share the five most important things that led to my turnaround and the most positive year of my life.
1) I took time off work to get better
For the last few years, I've worked 60-80 hours per week at two different venture-backed startups. This led to some intense burnout and was partly what drove me into depression and addiction.
2) I went to At Home Recovery for my addiction
I'm lucky that I live in a state with one of the best in-home opiate addiction recovery programs in the country. I just had one hour of group therapy per day, three days per week and was otherwise left to my own devices. After a few weeks the cravings started to go away and it wasn't so hard for me to resist falling back into the trap.
3) I went to a couple of therapy sessions per week
I went to therapy for a few months before my first rehab stint was finished and I continued going after I checked into the in home program. It helps a lot with anxiety and negative thinking as well as dealing with past trauma.
4) I started journaling every day
I've never been much of a writer, but recently found that if I just sat down and wrote for 15 minutes, the words just came to me. It felt like great life-affirming exercise, even though I didn't even know what was coming out of my pen until it's finished. Plus it helped me remember how much better things are outside of addiction.
5) I started exercising daily
I'd never really had a fitness regimen to speak of. In fact, I was the opposite of healthy when I started my jobs. But I realized that it was only going to get worse if I didn't take better care of myself. So, after some research and help from my wife, who is uber-fit, I got into running and now do quite basic aerobics 5 days per week along with lifting weights 3-4 days per week.
6) I stopped comparing myself to others in an unhealthy way
This is something that is helped by therapy but also happens naturally over time when you become more aware of your own thoughts and feelings more than those around you.
7) I finally got some emotional, financial and social support
While I did all these things on my own, it doesn't hurt to have a couple of people in your corner patting you on the back and cheering you on. I'm lucky to have a lot of great friends and family that were there for me as soon as I started taking steps to get better.
8) I found a way to make money that was actually worth doing
This one is coming in later this month, but I've been working hard on a new startup idea that I'm really excited about. It gives me reason to get out of bed everyday and an opportunity to be creative in creating something from nothing.