The Detour Project

Intro

The Detour Project is about my personal experience with a very long, suicidal depression, what got me through it, and what I learned along the way. Each person’s path and experience is unique. My highest hope is that you will be able to relate to some of this information and use it as a springboard towards your path to a happier and more fulfilling life.

The foundation of my depression:

• Traumatic events and losses
• Poor relationships
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Stress and anxiety
• Solitude and isolation
• Unmet (unrealistic) expectations
• Narcissistic and self-centered perspective
• Negative thoughts and self-talk

The Detour Project is about how I imploded that foundation, and all of the pain and negativity that it has sustained, and replacing it with a new foundation – simple, practical, universal principles for building a foundation of happiness, balance and peace.

I am not a doctor, counselor, therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist. I am a regular guy who struggled with depression for more than a decade and beat it (without medication) using the tools and strategies described on this website. It’s a no-nonsense, practical guide describing what worked for me, in plain English. This site is not meant to serve as a diagnosis, or replace medical advice, treatment or therapy. It’s simply a statement of what worked for me, in the hopes that it can help you gain a new perspective, take control, and live an empowered life without limits.

If you believe that a person or event beyond your control is the source of your unhappiness, I encourage you to read on. I believed this very same thing for a very long time. You possess the ability to take that power away from someone or something else and start living your life on purpose, on your terms.

The Detour Project exists because I thought it could help others. I lived with my depression for so long, stuck in despair, not really knowing that I had the power to change my actions, beliefs and behaviors and prevail. I was told by the television that my depression was a medical illness, a chemical imbalance, which required medication. I did not want to take medication. And so there I stayed, stuck in that dark place for so long, believing that fate had dealt me a losing hand, and that’s just the way it was and the way it would always be. I wrote this all to let you know that it doesn’t have to be that way.

Everything on this website is the culmination of everything that I have learned through years of therapy and self-help and put into practice. I do not have all the answers, but I am committed to a lifetime of learning and sharing.

Next: The Foundation for Happiness

** this post is an excerpt from Building a Foundation for Happiness