Maintenance After Relief
Keep the practices that helped after the immediate crisis has passed
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 95%
Poirier says he stopped therapy and the practices he had learned once he felt better, then returned to therapy after the airport incident. His lesson is that improvement is not necessarily a permanent fix and that the work may need to continue during stable periods. The transferable mechanism is maintenance: identify which supported practices helped, reduce them to a sustainable baseline, keep doing them when life feels normal, and escalate to qualified support when symptoms return or safety is in question. Poirier's own current routine includes early reading, writing, and doing something difficult in the morning, but those are personal examples rather than universal treatment. The framework is about continuity and early response, not a medical claim that any specific routine treats depression.
Origin
After feeling better and stopping therapy-related practices, Poirier experienced renewed distress and returned to therapy. He concluded that the work was ongoing rather than a one-time fix.
Core principles
- 01Feeling better does not prove the underlying work is finished
- 02Helpful practices lose their protective value when they stop
- 03A small repeatable routine is easier to sustain than crisis-only action
- 04Professional support and personal practices can work together
How to run it
- 1
List what helped
Record the professional support, routines, and conversations that coincided with improvement. Treat the list as personal evidence, not proof of a universal treatment.
Pro tip Separate practices you can maintain yourself from care that requires a professional.
Watch out Do not infer causation from timing alone.
- 2
Set the minimum
Choose a small baseline you can continue even when you feel well, such as a scheduled check-in or a brief reflective practice.
Pro tip Make the baseline easier than the crisis routine.
- 3
Protect the good periods
Keep the baseline on the calendar instead of treating symptom relief as permission to stop everything.
Pro tip Review the routine at a fixed interval rather than only after a bad day.
Watch out Maintenance needs may change; follow professional advice where applicable.
- 4
Notice early changes
Pay attention to personally familiar changes in mood, behaviour, or coping and communicate them before they accumulate.
Pro tip Agree in advance who you will tell when you notice a meaningful change.
Watch out Self-observation is not self-diagnosis.
- 5
Escalate support
Reconnect with qualified care when the baseline is not enough or symptoms return. Seek urgent help when there is immediate danger.
Watch out Do not rely on a routine alone during a mental-health or substance-related crisis.
In the wild
Poirier says he had stopped therapy and the practices he learned after feeling better. Following the airport incident, he returned to therapy and resumed early reading, writing, and difficult morning activity that he associates with feeling better three years earlier.
→ He reframed mental-health work as an ongoing practice rather than a completed repair.
Common mistakes
Stopping because today feels better
Short-term relief can make maintenance look unnecessary even when the practices were part of the support structure.
Turning a routine into treatment advice
A personal routine can support someone without being a clinically established treatment or suitable for everyone.
Is it for you?
Best for
People who have already found supportive practices or professional care useful and want to maintain continuity.
Not ideal for
Replacing diagnosis, crisis support, addiction treatment, or an individualized plan from a qualified professional.
From the transcript
“When I started feeling better, I stopped practicing everything I learned through therapy.”
“It's not something that you just fix. It's something you have to work on always.”
From the episode
UFC Legend Dustin Poirier: I Lost My Mind. I’ll Never Let It Happen Again.