“Hope is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.”

Vaclev Havel

Douglas Bloch, author of Healing from Depression, writes and speaks about a Vision Statement of Wellness, or sometimes called a Healing Intention Statement. An important first step in your recovery from depression or anxiety is setting the intention to heal. To make the decision to get better, regardless of how long you have been depressed and/or anxious, and regardless of whether you know how your healing will take place, or if you will even get better.

A Vision Statement of Wellness answers a simple question:

What would my life look like and feel like if I were free from the symptoms of anxiety and/or depression?

To help you develop your Vision Statement of Wellness, here are some questions to ask yourself to help you develop your Vision Statement of Wellness:

• How would my body look and feel?
• How much energy would I have available?
• How would I be feeling most of the time?
• What types of thoughts would I be thinking?
• What types of relationships would I have?
• What kind of work would I be involved in?
• What would my spiritual life be like?

Take some time to sit with these questions and visualize what you want for yourself. How would your life be without depression and/or anxiety. Once you get in touch with how you would like to feel emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually, write a paragraph or two that captures this vision of recovery.

Write your Healing Intention Statement in the present tense.

An example of a Healing Intention Statement is:

My mind is at peace. I go through the day enjoying the present moment. I engage with the world in a calm and compassionate way, even if there is something troubling me. I know that I will be able to figure out my problems. I enjoy activities and regularly try new things. I dance every day and eat for sustenance, not from emotional reasons. I have things to look forward to.

Douglas Bloch likes to say that a Vision Statement of Wellness stimulates our psychological immune system; it is the first step in changing our brain chemistry. This makes sense since healing intention statements have been shown to help patients recover from surgery.

If you have trouble developing your Vision Statement of Wellness on your own, we can do this together. Alternatively, you can bring your Vision Statement of Wellness into therapy, and we can discuss your vision and together work on you living more of your vision.