Important: I am not a psychologist/therapist, I don't know what I'm talking about, lol. These are just the opinions of a fellow human, treat them as such. Always prioritize the advice of professionals over the advice of laypeople

I have debated writing an essay about my struggles with mental health for a while. On the one hand, I thought that I shouldn't, for two reasons:

• There is a stigma against men suffering from these sorts of issues. People have the subconscious notion that if you suffer from depressive symptoms, you must be weak, an attribute that is commonly ascribed (whether fairly or not) to women. I don't believe this (in fact, I rather believe the opposite) but it's worth acknowledging.
• I am not a huge fan of what I might call the “fetishization” of mental illness. That is, I don't like how it is treated by sufferers and those that are sympathetic to sufferers. There is this notion that these issues are inescapable and untreatable, and give license for a person to act in whatever way they please.

However, I realized that I might be able to provide some respite to those in the thick of things that I have been through. My perspective on mental health is this: in life, a person may be afflicted by situations that are outside of their control, but people generally have the ability to handle these situations and, sometimes, to overcome them. We should not give in to the temptation to be overwhelmed by the crisis, and to just give up.

Reader, if you are at a point in which you are tempted to give up, I understand. I have been there many times. I hope that reading about my experiences and how I overcame them will give you the hope and the courage to face these issues.

Let's start with the most blindingly obvious: if you are given medication by your doctor, take it. You should take the medication when you feel bad, of course, but you should also take the medication when you feel *good*. You might wonder, how do I know if the medication is actually working? I'm not sure how to answer that question, but if you are concerned about it, you should talk to a medical professional.

One thing that worked for me was using a weekly pill-sorter – you know, the type that old people use to organize their pills Monday through Sunday. This creates a great visual reminder to regularly take the medication.

I say this with a major caveat that medications are not magical. They are useful, and created by people that are very intelligent, and generally improve do conditions. However, it is well-known that without a change in lifestyle, these medications will serve merely as a crutch, as opposed to something that can actually effectuate change.

Here are four things that improved my mental well-being:

• Drinking water: It's hard to overstate how much good hydration can improve your physical well-being.
• Eating healthy: Garbage in, garbage out. That's how it works. If you eat crap, you are going to feel like crap. You need healthy foods that will give you good amounts of energy.
• Spending time outside: This is huge. Breathe the fresh air. Make it a habit to take walks.
• Exercise: Also huge. When you exercise, you release endorphins. If you are a man, maybe try weightlifting. I got into it recently, and, even if you are weak now, it feels so so good to progress in your strength. There is no feeling in the world like easily lifting a dumbbell that gave you serious trouble a month ago. It is great for confidence and self-image

The sad truth is, you have to do the work. If you are suffering from depression, it is going to feel like a monumental labor to do it. I think that the reason for this is that because the most vicious attribute of depression is that it robs you of the hope that anything could ever be better. Why would anyone do anything if there was no hope of improvement?

This is, obviously, nonsense. There is always hope. I understand, however, that sometimes this is difficult to believe. So, let me instead suggest flipping the script: If you can't find it within yourself to have Hope, maybe you could start with Love?

(This is my epiphany, and the general idea I try to instill into others, so if you read anything that I write, I am always going to try to tell you to have Love in your heart :D so bare with me)

Please understand, reader, that I am not (only) talking about romantic Love. English does such violence to the concept of Love by giving it only one word