From Suicidal to Sunny Side of Life: How One Woman Used Her Clinical Depression to Change the Way We Think About Happiness

BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Five years ago, Erica Lester was diagnosed with clinical depression. "I had what looked like a happy life. I was married to a darling man who loved me to pieces. I had two beautiful daughters. I had a great a job working as a project manager for an IT firm. But inside, I was miserable."

Lester says she spent most days struggling to get out of bed. On the days she was able to leave her house she had fantasies about driving off the edge of the cliff near her rural Idaho home.

"I literally had the keys in my hand, and I knew if I left I wasn't coming back."

For Erica Lester, that was the moment that changed everything.

"There was no way I could go on like that. So I had to decide, did I want to live or die?" she said. "I chose to live, and I've never looked back."

"I became obsessed with how to become a happier version of myself. By day, I went to my 9-5. By night, I stayed up all hours researching positive psychology, mindset, habits, and the way we think."

It wasn't an instant shift, Erica says, but she's proud to say that now she is the happiest person she knows.

Erica decided to take everything she did to turn her life around and package it into an easy process her own clients could use to become happier versions of themselves.

"The first step is choosing you. You have to realize that you are meant for so much more than the pain and suffering you've experienced in the past, and now is the time you get to choose a different path," she explained.

"Once you've done that, it's time to create. This is the fun part! You get to find out who you really are, what you really desire, and how you want your life to look. The truth is, unless someone reminds us that we actually have some control over our lives, people tend to forget that they're in the driver's seat" (or behind the handlebars of an Indian motorcycle, as in Lester's case).

"Finally, once you know your worth, the life you actually want for yourself, and you've zeroed in on what that looks like, it's time for commitment. Change isn't easy, but when you commit fully, that's when you can move mountains. You must commit to always evolving, to staying true to your choice and taking the necessary action you need to take if you're serious about saving your own life. Because that's what you're doing — you're intentionally deciding that your life is worth living. Even on the hard days. Even if you have to change literally every aspect of it. And even when you slip back into your old habits. In all those tough moments, you have to be a bulldog for what you want."

For Erica and the people she coaches in her products and programs, the payoff is huge: a version of yourself that you like and respect, and the life you've always dreamed of.

For more information about Lester or her offers, visit her at https://ericajlester.com/.

SOURCE Erica Lester