Paul's Story
Putting into place and establishing a morning routine helped Paul, a former college athlete, to face and beat depression.
"Don't be ashamed to talk to someone. Going to a professional therapist has been the best thing I could do for myself. Everyone who loves you wants you to be happy, and they will happily help in any way to help you get there."
About Tall Paul (Paul Marlow):
For the initial 27 years of my life, I was an athlete first, and everything else came in a far second. I got drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, played baseball and basketball in University in Louisiana and have been a personal trainer for the last ten years.
The last five years have pushed me to accept and understand my shortcomings, allowing myself to find areas that would benefit me to grow in.
Not only has this been enlightening in my personal growth, but it has allowed me to feed my fire as an entrepreneur. In fighting my battle against mental health struggles, I started Never Alone, a clothing line where a percentage of each sale goes towards a charity that supports those also fighting their battles.
WHAT WAS THE MAJOR TURNING POINT IN YOUR RECOVERY FROM DEPRESSION?
Putting into place my morning routine. After reading books and listening to podcasts on how successful people started their day. I realized if I want to be successful in getting out of this dark hole, I needed to start small and work up.
No better way to start small than to address the very first issue in my day, that was waking up and feeling lost. Over the course of 2 months, I added small parts to my morning routine and adjusted as I saw fit.
What happened after I found my perfect routine and was able to practice it daily, was that I found a bubble of comfort. I knew that once I had taken the sixty minutes to complete my routine, I had a sense of self-accomplishment. Plus I was also able to address some key things (reading and meditation) that would help my brain mend over time.
WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT REALLY HELPED?
Three key areas that helped me in this time were:
- Getting in 45-60 minutes of fitness in each day, no matter what that looked like. Eg. Working out, walking the dog, biking around, etc.
- Cutting down my intake on sugary foods and heavy carbs. Over time I began to realize my depression would worsen after a heavy sugar-loaded meal, it would hit me hard for the next 3-4 hrs.
- Opening a novel when severely depressed and getting lost in it for as long as need be. Some days were so difficult that I just needed to accept that tomorrow was a new day to try again.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER GUYS FIGHTING DEPRESSION?
Don’t be ashamed to talk to someone. Going to a professional therapist has been the best thing I could do for myself. Everyone who loves you wants you to be happy, and they will happily help in any way to help you get there.
Remember, you are never alone.
– Tall Paul (Paul Marlow), entrepreneur and advocate for mental health and personal growth, Vancouver, Canada. 
