121: Overcoming Depression with Bill Daly

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Welcome to Rock Your Shine: After you’ve been cracked wide open. On this show, I sit down with people from all over the world to hear their transformational stories on their deep grief and loss journeys.

Depression does not discriminate, as seen in the life of Bill Daly; growing up with a supportive family, sailing through high school academically, and having aspirations to play college soccer. Despite this seemingly perfect life, Bill spiraled into a deep depression at 18, marking a dark phase of his life. It gave him a newfound passion to help others suffering from mental health issues and spurred him on his path to finding peace within himself. This blog post explores Bill's journey, shedding light on how he transformed his suffering into strength, offering inspiration to individuals navigating their way through similar struggles.

After high school, deep-seated feelings of being unprepared for college and adulthood led Bill to take a year off to travel with a friend. That's when everything began to fall apart. Despite visiting stunning, awe-inspiring places like the Grand Canyon, he couldn't appreciate or connect with their magnificence or the people around him. It seemed like a dark veil had descended, making him feel exceedingly anxious, fearful, and detached from his environment.

With persistent sadness consuming him, Bill found himself losing weight, experiencing drastic mood swings, and being withdrawn. To cope, he sought help from psychiatry, which sparked a series of trials with various antidepressants. Yearning for relief, he even acquiesced to electric shock therapy but to no avail. His search for relief led him on various spiritual quests, inclusive of yoga, meditation, and vision quests. Nevertheless, the underlying problem persisted.

After 25 long, grueling years of hardship and struggle, his father's passing marked a turning point. Upon losing his father, he reached the height of despair, contemplating ending his own life. However, this intense pain ultimately sparked the most profound transformation. He started to find signs of hope in the little things around him, such as the song of a bird he lovingly named Rose.

From that point forward, Bill began redirecting his focus from the crippling pain of his depression to finding peace and radical acceptance. He sought solace in daily meditation and used flotation therapy to soothe his mind. More importantly, he worked on building a relationship with his heart and soul, which incredibly transformed his life.

In a remarkable transition, he found love for himself and was able to love others deeply in return. He began to welcome his feelings of ‘good and bad’ without resistance, judgment or avoidance, giving him the freedom to feel, understand, and accept them.

His journey led him to the realization that mere acceptance could be liberating, and through his continued self-love practices, he discovered an inner peace he’d never believed possible.

Today, Bill utilizes his learned wisdom from years of battling his condition to aid others in their mental health journey. Being a shining beacon of resilience, he strives to be a compassionate listener, creating a judgment-free space for individuals to share their struggles. His experiences have taught him the transformative power of sharing his story and inviting vulnerability from others.

**TRIGGER WARNING** This episode covers sensitive subject matter and is not suitable for all listeners. If this topic could be a trigger for you, listen to this episode with a friend, a sibling, a loved one or a parent so you can talk about any emotions that come up for you. The contents of this episode are not intended to replace therapy and should not be taken as such. If you need immediate help, please call the crisis hotline listed below in our resources.

Listen in as we talk about:

[0:00] Intro

1:50 Bill's Early Life and Onset of Depression

9:46 Bill's Struggles with Depression in College

11:19 Bill's Spiritual Journey and Search for Enlightenment

20:41 Relationship with family during this time

22:03 Bill's Struggles with Substance Abuse

22:21 Bill's Journey into Recovery and the 12 Steps

24:24 Bill's Continued Struggles and Attempts to Fill the Void

26:37 Bill's Father's Passing and Its Impact

27:31 Bill's Lowest Point and Desire to End His Life

27:45 Struggles with Sobriety