Hi.
This is a blog about the journey of life-long fulfilment from the perspective of someone who has experienced life-long depression and occasional anxiety.
My writings come from a place of love and sometimes deal with some difficult and dark issues, but the aim is always to share knowledge and actionable tools to help you move ever closer to the light and a fulfilled life.
About me
You can call me Jon Red, or JR. Who I am is not important, but the vision I have for the future is radically important (more on that later, some background first).
Evolution of the blog
In January 2021, I started a blog. This blog. It was a blog describing depression through the lens of someone who has suffered from it for over twenty years. The aim at that time was to help people understand depression and make talking about it less taboo. I wanted talking about depression to become normal (as with other illnesses), and I wanted people to care more about the people suffering from depression. It also served as a kind of therapy and journey of self-discovery for me.
I still want to achieve the above, but as I have grown, so has my vision for the future and this blog. My approach has changed as I have begun to lift myself out of the depths of depression and learnt more about other aspects of mental health and why mental health issues affect people in different ways, as well as discovering tools for managing more situations.
As a result, the blog has evolved to focus on life-long fulfilment (not happiness, which is fleeting) as I believe this is a major factor in improving many mental health issues. Mental health will remain a significant part of the conversation.
Here is ‘The Vision‘ I referred to earlier:
The Vision
A world without depression, anxiety or suicide.
A world where everyone, everywhere, in every generation, has the opportunity to live a fulfilling life.
A world full of love and kindness.
Part of making this vision a reality is my personal mission:
The Mission
To use my communication skills and skills in education to inspire the world to live fulfilling lives; to become a better husband, father, friend and coworker in the process; and to leave the world better than I found it.
To move closer to achieving the mission and vision will require three things:
- Continuous learning
- Mastering my craft to better communicate my message
- Mutual help
Because of this, I actively encourage and will always welcome constructive feedback and your insights, so please feel free to comment or share anything you think may help other readers, myself or the blog move forwards.
Part of the evolution of this blog is a year-long deep-dive series into the building blocks of what I believe to make up a fulfilled life (coming soon).
Where to start?
Before the new series arrives, if you do not know where to start reading, start with ‘Triggers and Tools’.
For the bigger picture, read ‘The Vision‘.
If you are interested in my growth since 2021 (including my contradictions, changes of mind, changing direction etc.), read the posts in the order they were published.
If you need specific information, go straight to the post with that title. I generally try to keep blog post titles obvious and unambiguous so you can find something useful quickly.
Look after yourself and each other, and I look forward to hearing from you in the comments!
Much love
JR
thejourneyx 