You sir are a fighter, from what Ive read above, wow, you have been through a lot and you have overcome so much in your life. What is even better is when you recognized that if you put faith in yourself then everything will work out fine. Most people don’t even know that, they don’t even think about faith in themselves.

It seems like you have all the knowledge and experience to get through this and get better, since you did it before. This is a minor set back, not a crippling defeat. I recon that things have been happening so fast and there has been so much stress that you haven’t had the time to put faith back in yourself. That may very well be the issue.

You know it man, the fight that you got to fight is in your mind, it is nowhere else, you now this. Go back to the basics, write down everything that you like about yourself (make a list, and I mean everything), you’ll be surprised at what you can come up with that is so true. Make new affirmations and repeat them to yourself everyday, whenever you have a second to spare (this is hard, but if you do it, you’ll see progress I promise you, as I am doing this with myself in my own situation and it works wonders). Tell yourself that you believe in yourself, look in the mirror and smile, and tell yourself again.

You are so blessed to have a wife and kids, you will already be an inspiration to them when they go through tough times because you fought hard and you won and here you are. You did it before and you will do it again. When you catch yourself worrying, stop right there, and continue to believe in yourself. Worrying does NOTHING positive for us, it is a leach, holding us down. Get rid of it, its all in your head man.

You are already taking the right steps and seeing a therapist, now stop nervously expecting magic to happen, stop putting a timer on your sanity such that if you don’t recover by like winter then you’re screwed. Don’t do that, focus on one day at a time. Go to the gym (my personal favorite), get your blood flowing man, you were born to move and it will do wonders for your mental health (not to mention that your wife will LOVE your new and improved body…. and the rest is not pg rated so I shall not go any further).

Also, try out something new that you’ve always thought of doing, such as volunteering at homeless shelters or soup kitchens; I always suggest this since I joined this site and its because I get so much enjoyment and satisfaction out of meeting these kind of people and making them smile even for just a moment.

Again: rid yourself of worrying, its a waste of mental space, especially for an educated and successful man like yourself.

The toughest challenges are for the strongest people, take it head on. Conquer your mind, retake what is yours up there and the rest will follow 🙂 .

It sure did take a lot from you man, my relationship of almost 4 years ended almost two weeks ago. I got a lot taken from me too, (im not trying to compare to you here, just trying to relate) including my confidence, a bit of my appetite, and a tonne of happiness. But I know inside that this is a blessing as I was getting way too comfortable and I would never have worked on myself in that relationship the way I am now so I know that in time I will have experienced a net gain out of this event.

The easy part i think is that the things that have been taken from us are things that we used to have, many of which are critical for us to live, like happiness and fulfillment. So you see, you have to get it all back and then more, you have no choice, your body will force you to breathe when you don’t feel like breathing. Its an extreme analogy, but I think it is quite accurate.

I understand that you feel far from the person that you describe in a list that you make about yourself. That is okay, this is square one man. Stick to that list, and repeat these characteristics in your head everyday. If the statement: “I am massively confident” seems way too unreal and your mind is refuting it, then change it right now to “I am becoming massively confident” and that should stick a little more well. This is what I do by the way, and I repeat these affirmations in my head everyday, and I try to do them whenever I get a minute or two alone.

Imagine this person that you are going to become in the future, this confident, happy, awesome, and loving person. Note: (you actually are this person already, you jst have to stimulate and activate your “awesomecells” and “happycells” to wake up and start functioning again.)

I know, that was cheesy and strange, but you already read it so too bad, you’re gonna think about those aweseomcells now constantly, sucka.

Hang in there graffinLA, keep doing what works for you. You have great people around you who love you, and one more coming soon haha (congratulations on the new baby!)

And exactly what you said how you feel broken…is exactly what the doctor describes happened to him in the book. His mind just broke on him one day. This is the answer to your problems I promise you…I saw results immediately and even better after 3 days and I’m not even following the plan exactly. I am off all psychiatric medications for the first time in years for 3 months so far. It will work for your all of your issues. You describe almost the exact problem the doctor had. Of course I should say to consult your doctor about any meds you are on.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by savvy702.

I have been were you are twice. The second time about 6 years ago. You will get through this, have patient with yourself. Do things slow, everything will fall into place in time. You will look back and realize that your breakdown was necessary to help you recover. I was told from a Therapist, is like having a tooth that has been aching. The decay has been removed and a new filling been placed. I hope this will help. Be gentle and kind with yourself.