Doing Whatever it Takes to Improve Your Mental Health

Although most of us would prefer to not feel pain, it’s necessary if we want to survive. Imagine accidentally putting your hand on a hot stove and not feeling any pain. You’d leave your hand on there and experience extreme damage to your hand, and some of it might be permanent damage. So, although pain sucks, when we look at it like that, we submit and say, “Thanks evolution for allowing me pain so I can survive.”

While feelings of physical pain help us not do stupid things, it’s much harder with psychological pain. It blows my mind when I watch people stay in their psychological pain without metaphorically taking their hand off the stove. The problem is, I’m far too familiar with doing the exact same thing.

Finding the Willingness to Change

Previously, we discussed one of my favorite quotes and equations about suffering: Suffering = pain x resistance. I’m much better at avoiding resistance today, but seven years ago, my resistance almost led to so much suffering that I was either take my own life or relapse and slowly kill myself.

I waited three whole months to finally get a sponsor in AA. I walked into the rooms as someone who had lost everything and had a 10% chance of living. Even as I was knocking on death’s door, I was still a stubborn asshole.