The RISTUS Programme for the Lost

06/10/2025

12 Steps (and One More) for the Half-Dead

This isn't for people trying to optimize their lives.
This is for people who are stuck, ashamed, numb, and running on nothing.
People lying in bed all day, skipping meals, not showering, not feeling anything.

This is not therapy. This is not a cure.
It's a restart button. No motivation required. No belief required. Just movement.

STEP 1: Make your bed – Start with one decision

Not for tidiness. For structure. For proof that you can do one thing.

  • Don't aim for perfect, just pull the sheet

  • Do it right after getting up

  • That's one win — no matter what happens next

STEP 2: Go to bed and wake up at regular times

Sleep saves lives. Structure saves minds.

  • Choose a bedtime and stick to it

  • Set an alarm, get up even if you don't want to

  • No screens in bed. Just lie down. Let rest happen

STEP 3: Eat on a schedule — even if you're not hungry

Food isn't pleasure. Food is fuel. Eat to keep going.

  • Aim for 3 meals and 1 small supper

  • Don't skip — even toast or soup counts

  • Eat at the same times every day

STEP 4: Clean a room — or just a corner

You don't have to fix your life. Start by cleaning a square meter of it.

  • Pick a drawer, floor patch, or shelf

  • Set a timer for 5 minutes and stop after that

  • Clean space helps you breathe again

STEP 5: Brush your teeth. Shower. Shave.

You may not care right now. Do it anyway. This is body maintenance, not luxury.

  • Brush teeth 2x a day

  • Shower daily or every other day

  • Put on deodorant. Shave. Comb your hair

  • Act like someone who matters — you are

STEP 6: Go outside — even for 60 seconds

The longer you hide, the heavier the air gets. Step into the world.

  • Open the door. Step out. Breathe

  • Walk to the end of the street. Touch a tree

  • Stand on your steps and feel the cold. Just be out

STEP 7: Move your body — even just a little

You're not broken. You're stuck. Movement is medicine.

  • Stretch your arms above your head

  • Do five squats. Walk in a circle

  • Dance to one song. Your body remembers life

STEP 8: Change your clothes — don't wear yesterday's pain

Your body is not a bin. Clean clothes = new day.

  • New shirt. New socks. New underwear

  • Even if you're staying home

  • This is ritual. You're resetting yourself

STEP 9: Open a window — let life in

Air. Light. Space. Your lungs need it. Your brain needs it more.

  • Crack open a window for 5–10 minutes

  • Let daylight hit your skin

  • Sit near the window and just exist

STEP 10: Sit up — don't rot in bed

Bed is for sleeping. Sit up like you mean to live.

  • Use a chair, not the mattress

  • Put on a hoodie if you're cold

  • Set a timer: 10 minutes sitting up = forward

STEP 11: Drink water — just drink it

You're probably dehydrated and you don't even know it.

  • One glass when you wake up

  • Leave it by the bed if you have to

  • No feelings, no excuses — drink it

STEP 12: I don't care how you feel — do it anyway

You don't want to eat? I don't care. Eat anyway.
You don't want to clean? Move anyway.
You don't want to do any of this? That's exactly why you must.

  • I don't care if you're numb, angry, or exhausted

  • I don't care if your brain screams "what's the point?"

  • These steps work. It's been proven

  • You are not the exception

  • Do the list. Repeat tomorrow. Repeat again

  • If you fall off, get back on. That's the rule

STEP 13 (Optional): Write One Sentence – Get it out of your head

Not journaling. Not a diary. Just proof that you're here.

  • Write: "I'm alive today." Or: "I hate this, but I'm trying."

  • Or: 3 things you did today — even if one is "brushed teeth"

  • Put it in a notebook. A sticky note. Your phone.

  • You are real. And writing proves it

Final Anchor

You don't need a reason to live yet.
But you do need to act like someone who might find one.

Raymond and Ken

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