NOTE: This article is an updated version of the article that released on March 22, 2026, with new life information.

“Recovery is full of ups and downs. There is no such thing as a linear life. But you can always turn your setbacks into the setups to come back stronger” -Brittany Burgunder, Author, Mental Health & Eating Disorder Advocate

You’ve heard the term “one step forward, two steps back” and I am here to tell you that you need to take that expression and flip it. Two steps forward for every one step back.

Life can be hard and unfair, so you’re going to take your hits that knock you backwards, but you only lose ground if you don’t give up.

I hit a wall recently in my battle with depression. I just felt defeated. Down on myself. Couldn’t see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Just nothingness. Hopeless wandering around. My brain echoing with regrets and anxiety riddled panic.

I like to use the metaphor of being an amateur boxer when I discuss my fight with depression. It’s good ain’t it?

You’re going take punches for sure, but you always get to punch back. It’s not an outright beating, it’s a fair fight. There are strategies to make sure you don’t get hit near as much, and I like to call that the Mayweather Method. Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a former professional boxer with an undisputed and undefeated record of 50-0, and he was known for his defensive style of boxing. He knew how to bide his time and wear out his opponents by not letting himself get hit.

So using this method against depression is all about endurance until your depression gets tired and then you can strike back.

To really nail this method, you have to know what actions you can take that will keep your depression at bay. To reverse engineer this technique, you have to ask yourself what the opposite of your depression is. Well to put it simply, the opposite of depression is anti-depressants. I’m not talking about the medications. Plus I am just a guy, not a psychiatrist, so I can’t speak one way or another on the pharmaceuticals.

I do know this though; there are various types of antidepressants such as therapy, nutritious food, sunlight and exercise.

To properly use this method, you need to equip yourself with every means of antidepressant tools to keep yourself in the happiest mood possible. A great article to reference can be found here from Talkspace.

Depression doesn’t have near as good of a chance to catch us with a knockout punch when we are in a good defensive position.

I do my best to use this method, but sometimes I get surprised with a few jabs leading to me being vulnerable to the knockout punch. That’s what happened recently to me. First thing I did when I realized I couldn’t go on this way, was to start seeking therapy again. More on that in a later article.

If you do happen to get hit hard by depression, it only wins if you don’t get up. Let’s coin this as the Rocky Method.

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you get hit and keep movin’ forward. How much you can take, and keep movin’ forward. That’s how winning is done!” -Rocky Balboa

Fuck yeah! God damn that speech fires me up. Imma have to write that one down on poster paper so I see it every God damn day of my life!

We are gonna get hit. We are gonna be in pain. But we also get to punch back. We get to choose if we’re gonna lay on the ground and let the count get to 10, or if we’re gonna get back up. I’m not much for letting the count get past 8. I’ve let it get that far sure, but I know what happens if I let two more counts get vocalized. It means I lose. And I am not a loser.

If depression wins, it is a very dangerous place to be. You might be able to leave the confines of the ring, but you might never get a chance to fight back and win.

Most of us that suffer from depression don’t want to kill ourselves, we just don’t want to be in pain anymore. We want joy and happiness. We want worry and peril to go away.

That’s why I mentioned that life isn’t fair and just. It just isn’t. Some people get dealt a better hand, but we still get to sit at the table. You can fold and lose everything, or you can keep learning to play your cards right.

Every time my depression has gotten the upper hand, I’ve fought back harder. One step backward, two steps forward.

I lost my mother at 18. That grief led to my weight gain up to 271 pounds. I started running and moved out of my Dad’s house and into a “frat house” eventually leading to me getting my weight down. One step backward, two steps forward.

I had my ex-wife step outside of our marriage leading to our divorce. I got in even better shape, I started dating again and now I’m engaged to the love of my life and we are raising a beautiful baby boy together. One step backward, two steps forward.

I found myself at 31 years old without any career aspirations. I took chances and learned some great new skills from experiences I wouldn’t have dared to try previously. Today, I have a great job as a Plasma Operator in a Metal Shop, and I can build you a wood fence with my own two hands. One step backward, two steps forward.

Yes, sometimes life gets heavy. I found myself wallowing in self pity, so I had to give myself a mental reset. I reverse engineered my feelings and thoughts and saw them for what they were. Depression got the upper hand and almost knocked me out, but as the count got closer to 8, I got up.

I made the call to get help. I don’t care about the cost. I need to be better to better take care of not only myself, but also my family.

I am not a failure. I am not a quitter. I am not damaged goods like depression was telling me. I am resilient.

Nobody is gonna save you, so get in the gym, and get to work on your next match against your opponent, because YOU ARE CAPABLE. One step backward. Two steps forward.