Over the last two weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about healing. This, following reading news of Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington’s suicide on Chris Cornell’s birthday.

Specifically, I’ve been contemplative about the difference between those of us who overcome depression and those who do not, and if the key is our ability to access healing.

So, my first post on this topic is a simple but thoughtful and honest list of the ways I’ve been able to overcome adversity, depression, anxiety and worry… and access the power of healing. As I put this list together though, I also realized that using any one of these in excess has also led me to further addiction, pain and suffering, depending on where in life I was at… As such, not only should one use in moderation, it’s important to recognize that there’s a fine line between healthy practice and addiction: know the difference, choose to be kind to yourself, and stop when you’ve crossed that line. So without further ado*:

1. exercise (this is obvious, but do so in moderation)
2. eating healthy (as my friend Derek warned: this is not the same as dieting)*
3. sharing sadness with friends and family
4. vacation (beach ones are my favorite)
5. making new friends (usually comes easiest when you’re pursuing a new social hobby)
6. dessert
7. reading (one of my favorites: Tara Brach’s Radical Acceptance)
8. listening to music (Frank Sinatra tops the list)
9. yoga, meditation, and reiki
10. restyle, your hair and/or wardrobe
11. tattoo (go for a small one)
12. hobbies, new and old
13. write, from the heart (I’m not one for journaling, but prefer poetry writing)
14. talk therapy (in my personal experience, this is an entry point to healing, but in and of itself talk therapy hasn’t healed me)
15. working with a life coach (where talk therapy has gotten me to the entry point, a life coach has guided me the rest of the way)
16. alternative medicine (acupuncture has helped me, though there are others)

Do you have a favorite you want to share that’s not on my list? Please feel free to leave a comment!

*Disclaimer: all opinions expressed here are my own and are a result of the way in which my somewhat dysfunctional mind interprets a particular situation and or concept. Should you decide to act upon or reuse any information provided by me, you are doing so at your own responsibility.