I want to talk about breaking negative cycles, and I'm gonna try and tread this topic as carefully as possible
inevitably when talking about this kind of thing the subject of
Depression comes up and I just don't feel like I can speak about it with any real authority. All I can really talk about are
my experiences
However, I do want to talk about this because to never bring this kind of thing up
Especially on social media feels a little bit negligent to me. I want to see human beings. I don't want to see
Perfect people all the time. I feel like whenever I've fallen into a negative cycle. It's almost like the rules change
You know, I'm not thinking clearly and I'm definitely not operating at my best
Identifying and breaking out of a cycle like this is probably the most important thing to focus on when you're in that kind of situation
And that's what I want to explore this piece. Again,
I think it's really important for me to repeat the fact that I know there are people out there
that have suffered way more than I have or ever will honestly considering the the
privileges that I have at my disposal
Overall, I've had a really good life
that being said
I think it's very very easy for all of us to fall into negative traps, destructive habits, toxic interactions, that kind of thing.
I remember arriving at a bus station in Argentina a little over two years ago and
calling my mom she was in another continent at the time and
We didn't even speak during that phone call. I just cried that was all that would come out
That was all that I was capable of in that moment
This is a really difficult experience to describe to somebody who has never gone through this before
It's kind of like you're falling and no matter what you do, you can't seem to grab on to something to stop.
I had really lost my footing, and I don't even want to think about what would have happened if I had continued on that trajectory.
I'm legitimately not looking for sympathy here. I
recognize that I'm a really sensitive person sometimes too sensitive and
This was a very important experience for me to have you know, for me to grow and to toughen up a little bit
And so in part 3 if my going essential this series I want to talk about what I've learned in breaking negative cycles
I
Know that I keep prefacing everything that I'm saying here and this is the last time I'm going to do that
But it's important for me to repeat that. This is 100% anecdotal
I'm not a psychologist, and this isn't even close to a replacement for professional help.
Please treat this for what this is which is just a video on the internet
Also, if you think that you're going through something that is potentially life-threatening
Please seek help do it for yourself and do it for the people that you love
Okay, so here are the things that helped me get better. One, change in environment
My definition for environment comes in two parts internal and external
external environment is your physical space as well as people that you interact with and the things that you expose yourself to like experiences
an Internal environment is your mentality and your thoughts the things that are going on in your head now
I had a problem with both
I had spent a time living in a place where I felt disliked and judged and just not free to express myself safely
However, my mindset was terrible as well. I was placing way too much importance in the opinions and words of others
I was painfully dependent on external validation. I'm still working on that in a way
I was acting like a little kid and that was completely my own fault and responsibility
I take full ownership for the fact that I let things get as unhealthy as they did
I needed to stop acting like a victim and letting that mindset ruin my life when environment was the problem either
Externally or internally I found that change can be extremely beneficial
So in a physical sense that can mean travelling to a new city or a new country
But it doesn't have to be that, you know, not everybody has access to that kind of thing. It can be as simple as
spending time in nature or spending time with different people
You know making new friends and on an internal level that can be changing the kind of content that you're consuming. As an example,
obviously
It's super important to be an informed citizen and to vote right but that doesn't mean you have to be plugged in to the negative
and sensationalized news cycle 24/7 it can be changing the accounts that you follow on social media or
adopting digital minimalism and reducing your exposure to social media in general anything that takes you out of your bubble and
Increases your perspective. This is super valuable because in my experience when I was in a bad place
I knew that something wasn't right
I just didn't know what to do about it in most cases
Exposure to new things can potentially provide you access to the answers that you're looking for. Two, learn a new skill
I think that adversity is incredible for growing and expanding as a person but
at some level, I think that is only possible once you've given yourself the chance to get back up on your feet. Now,
I've spoken about this before
learning new things has helped me get out of dark places in February of 2017. I returned to the US and
Realized that in a year and a half. I'd learned very little about the technical side of filmmaking
I was looking at my videos and not feeling like proud or excited about what I had done. Something kept pulling me back towards storytelling
And so I went it
I'm just gonna throw everything I've got at this. You can check out my video on how I learned things online if you're curious about
how I did that. This was extremely therapeutic for me and I'll tell you why I had gone a long time without any wings
so my self-esteem was at an all-time low and I was finally
learning a valuable skill. People could now use my services, you know
I could contribute something to the world and that changed everything for me.
I'm not sure what this dance move is exactly but it doesn't look this good at normal speed
I assure you this is more of a visual representation of how I felt. There's a shift that takes place
I think when you take things into your own hands, you're no longer an employee in your own life
You know
You're responsible for your own decisions.
Getting good at something can bring back some of that momentum that I mean at least in my case I had lost and
Okay,
So now you have a skill, right? Or maybe not even, maybe you're just starting out with something.
Once you've given yourself the chance to get back up on your feet,
Go and do something difficult without fail all the things that I'm most proud of in life
have been the hardest things that I've taken on. I'm not a very funny person
naturally, you know, I'm not witty. I think people that get to know me in person would will know what I'm talking about
I'm just not quick in that way. So I've made myself do improv in stand-up comedy. I suck at it. Okay
It's a total cringe fest, but that's not what matters. What I've gained from
those experiences was way more than that, which was confidence.
It has grown as I push myself even in little ways, but please don't take me as inspiration. Okay?
I'm not that remarkable. In fact, I'm not remarkable at all.
There are way better stories out there of people that have come from abject poverty or other
incredibly terrible odds and have been successful in their mission, if they could do it,
you definitely can. So, that covers the three main points that I wanted to talk about in this video. Take it or leave it
I hope that this was helpful. But once again, I can only draw from my own experiences
So if you've had a different experience or a different viewpoint on things
Please feel free to share it in the comments down below
and if you'd like to see more of this kind of content
Please consider sticking around and you can do that by subscribing to my channel
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So giving you options. Alright. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you soon