5 Things I Learned Once I Got Proactive About My Mental Health and General Existence

Left: Los Angeles Wastoid With an Idea for a Book He Says Will Be a Guaranteed Bestseller If He Ever Writes It After Figuring Out How to Connect the Beginning to the End (2015) • Right: Vampire Weekend’s Tour Manager Trying to Get in on a Toast for Someone He Doesn’t Know at a Party Too Loud for His Sensibilities (2019)

Do you know how insanely out of whack your existence has to be for you to huck half your wardrobe, scoop reading glasses you’ve needed for years, and put together three calendars in order to keep track of all the things you always wanted to do but never did?

Let me back up.

In January, I was coming apart at the seams, so I decided to rework myself and the world around me — I quit drinking, I started weekly therapy, I took a hiatus from drugs, I upped my exercise routine, I made a point of getting a good night’s rest, and so on. In February, I reflected on my progress and wrote about it here: I’m Trying to Not Be an Out of Control Mess This Year — and It’s Working. In March, I made the experiment more blood than air, ensuring my life changes were practical, not just theoretical. Now it’s April and I’ve definitely learned five things.

1. It takes a good baseline to observe the bad.
2. Distractions don’t hold the same allure after a break.
3. Self-fulfilling prophecies are preventable.
4. Acknowledgement and acceptance are not the same.
5. There’s always time to change.