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Depression

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CBT-based Strategies for Managing Depression

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CBT-based Strategies for Managing Depression

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) involves using your Thoughts to help manage your Emotions which in turn affect the way you either impulsively react or appropriately respond to a crisis or any situation. This is considered a CBT triangle- Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions. Depression may be described as feelings of "emptiness", "hopelessness", or "sadness". There are many different experiences of depression as there is uniqueness in people. Be aware of the following symptoms of Depression. Depression can show up as bodily and physical symptoms ( aches and pains that don't respond to traditional medical treatments); exhaustion; overeating or having 5 percent weight loss without intending to do so; excessive sleeping or unable to sleep enough; feeling more fidgety. Psychological symptoms include feelings of hopelessness and emptiness, maybe even anxiety. Suicidal ideations are not unusual. Social symptoms involve loss of interest in usual activities and avoiding others.

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Recognizing the Signs: Being Aware of Mental Health Relapses

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Recognizing the Signs: Being Aware of Mental Health Relapses

Experiencing and working through difficulties with mental health is not a linear process, rather it is common to experience both ups and downs. Despite the hard work that can be done to control mental health symptoms, there is always a chance that symptoms can reoccur in the future, this is something that is considered a mental health relapse. Having a mental health relapse can feel discouraging, but fear not, this is common and something that you can prepare for.

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Journal with T.I.M.E.

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Journal with T.I.M.E.

The act of journaling has many known benefits for cognition and overall mental health. Journaling helps to reduce stress, set goals, increase overall mood, cope with daily problems, reflect, and increase your memory. While journaling does have these benefits, a lot of times it is hard to know where to start when beginning this process. You may be wondering, what do I write about? While there are no set requirements for journaling because it is an avenue of personal expression and reflection, but seemingly this process can still present as intimidating.

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Intimacy In Relationships: Myths vs. Facts

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Intimacy In Relationships: Myths vs. Facts

Intimacy is a cornerstone of any close relationship. This intimacy can come from many different parts of a relationship and look very different from one another, but they all have one thing in common; trust and vulnerability. Whether this relationship is between you and your parents, best friend, or romantic partner, if it is a close relationship then they know the real you and you trust them not to hurt you with that information. It is here that we let our walls down that would otherwise be up with other people. Having your walls down is the vulnerable state that makes these relationships so strong and meaningful. There are many myths and misconceptions about intimacy that regularly affects the quality of a relationship.

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Creativity & Coping: How Your Imagination Can Be A Great Tool For Your Mental Health

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Creativity & Coping: How Your Imagination Can Be A Great Tool For Your Mental Health

Humans are among a very small percentage of creatures that have the documented capacity to imagine vivid and complex ideas. We can engage in fun fantasies like driving our dream car, traveling to exotic locations, and finding our true love in the most romantic way. We can also imagine worst-case scenarios like our heaviest concerns for the day coming to pass, imagining coming face to face with a specific phobia, or picturing exactly how that argument with your partner will play out later.

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Take a Break!: Tips on taking a mental reset after a stressful day

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Take a Break!: Tips on taking a mental reset after a stressful day

After a stressful day it can be difficult to turn off our negative thoughts and feelings. It can be easy to bring stress home after a long day at work, an argument with a friend, or whatever it may be that brought you down. It is important to take care of yourself after a stressful day by checking in with yourself and allowing a mental reset. Taking a mental reset can help in better managing your stress and not allowing it to continue the remainder of the day into the next. The following are ten tips and strategies you can use to help unwind after a stressful day:

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Do You Know Your Stress Response?

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Do You Know Your Stress Response?

Imagine this, you have to do some form of public speaking, or you are driving and the car in front of you stops short, or you are out for a walk and a strange animal jumps out in front of you. What would you do? Flight or fight are the body’s natural way to response to stressful, scary, or dangerous situations. After extensive data collection, researchers now acknowledge that there are other automatic responses in addition to flight or fight and they are freeze and fawn.

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Care in 2022: Self-Care Techniques As We Grow and Learn

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Care in 2022: Self-Care Techniques As We Grow and Learn

We hear the term self-care often. With many stressors in our personal lives and around the world, impacting all of us, the idea of self-care is even more prominent as the world changes and shifts. You have probably heard about many strategies to cope, such as: taking a walk, taking a nap, writing down positive thoughts and others. Let’s explore additional self-care strategies you might try.

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I.M.P.R.O.V.E.: A DBT-based Skill for Emotion Regulation

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I.M.P.R.O.V.E.: A DBT-based Skill for Emotion Regulation

Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) is based on a dialectical module which helps one to find the middle path or gray thinking with cognition and behaviors. When you think in a "all or nothing" way, you take on unnecessary stress and tension in life. DBT helps you think in terms of "all or at least something".

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Feeling Fatigued? Figure Out The Types of Rest That Feel Best to You

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Feeling Fatigued? Figure Out The Types of Rest That Feel Best to You

Have you been feeling exhausted most days? Even when you’ve gotten enough sleep? This is because sleep and rest are different, and it is common to confuse the two. You suffer from a rest deficit if you don’t consider the other forms of needed rest. Rest should result in feeling restored and energized. Let's explore the different forms of rest that you might try.

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Communicating with Love: Understanding The Five Love Languages

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Communicating with Love: Understanding The Five Love Languages

When you show affection to your significant other, do you know if it's the way that they like to receive it? Love can get lost in translation when two people have different types of love languages. The five love languages are different ways of expressing and receiving love. The concept of love languages was developed by Gary Chapman, Ph.D., in his book The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts, where he describes these styles of communicating love.

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G.R.A.P.E.S. for Depression: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make G.R.A.P.E.S.

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G.R.A.P.E.S. for Depression: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make G.R.A.P.E.S.

Grapes are nutritious and delicious, however we are referring to the acronym G.R.A.P.E.S. commonly used to address and combat depression. Symptoms of depression often include having feelings of sadness, even hopelessness, and lack of motivation. During times of depression, it can be helpful to follow these guidelines with the help of the following acronym, and to practice these regularly to reduce the possibility of experiencing depressive symptoms.

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Navigating Therapeutic Support: Strategies to Support Growth Between Sessions

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Navigating Therapeutic Support: Strategies to Support Growth Between Sessions

During a therapy session you have the space to talk about your emotions and stressors, confront your problems, and be provided with helpful feedback to support positive changes. The time spent in a therapy session can feel empowering, but this is only a small portion of your week. There are 168 hours in a week, less than one of those hours are spent in therapy. A common misconception is that attending your weekly therapy sessions is all that is needed, but the time in between therapy sessions also holds an important space to continue to progress. So the real question is, what do you do in the time in between therapy sessions? While there is not an exact science or formula that is guaranteed to work, the following are helpful tips and ideas to help you in between sessions.

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Grounding Oneself: Coping Strategies to Reduce Anxiety

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Grounding Oneself: Coping Strategies to Reduce Anxiety

Symptoms of anxiety consist of both physical and mental symptoms, which oftentimes can feel incredibly overwhelming and difficult to manage in the moment. While there are many different techniques and tricks to combat these symptoms, a helpful group of skills fall under grounding techniques. Grounding techniques work to bring awareness to the present moment and what is happening in the world around you. These help to distract from anxious thoughts and symptoms. In bringing awareness to the present moment, it can provide feelings of safety and create a space between you and your feelings of anxiety. Grounding techniques can include both physical and mental techniques to provide distractions. The following are examples of grounding techniques that you can begin to use and practice.

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Positive Mindset: Mindfulness Techniques for Stress Management

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Positive Mindset: Mindfulness Techniques for Stress Management

Being mindful is about remaining in the present moment and being aware of your current surroundings, thoughts, emotions and feelings. It is a practice often used in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy but also across different types of therapies. Read on for ways that mindfulness can support your overall wellbeing, particularly when it comes to managing stress.

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Ride the Waves: Learning to Surf Your Feelings

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Ride the Waves: Learning to Surf Your Feelings

Emotional experiences can feel so overwhelming. So much so that they can make us convinced that they are insurmountable, like a large wave coming over you as you stand in the shallow waters. It turns out that this is a very fitting metaphor for emotional spikes. Just as one can be overtaken and overwhelmed by a large wave, so too can one learn the skills needed to read the onset of the wave, position themselves effectively with it, and surf the wave which allows one to experience emotions with mastery and confidence. Additionally, because we experience emotions everyday of our lives, learning to surf your emotional waves can be practiced every day. This starts with seeing your feelings as a wave; strong, influential, and temporary… yes… temporary. Many cognitive patterns that lead to mental health disorders are habits that take single-emotion events and reinforce them again and again until they feel chronic. The emotion typically only lasted a few seconds or a few minutes at most and any secondary or lingering feelings are being upheld by what your thoughts, beliefs, and responses create. With this understanding, one can experience the emotional wave effectively in the moment before allowing that wave to return to the ocean never to come back in that exact form ever again.

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Let's Get Physical?: The Challenge of Movement During Periods of Depression

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Let's Get Physical?: The Challenge of Movement During Periods of Depression

Depression is one of the most commonly reported mental health challenges. The need for coping skills to help manage depressive spikes, as well as chronic depression, remains important whether you are in treatment for depression or not. There are many skills that can help battle depression that use multiple methods. However, depression is also one of the most debilitating mental health challenges, as it is effective at significantly reducing motivation across many areas of life. This can include activities and/or hobbies that you once enjoyed and took pride in. This lack of motivation can also lead to a feeling of helplessness when you have the opportunity to use coping skills and other interventions. Many strategies for this include using behavioral change to help facilitate mood and thought changes. Others use cognitive approaches to help build a more factual perception of one’s self and the world. Whether you seek out supportive relationships, get back into jogging again, or reflect on the steps needed to go back to school and get that degree you want, all of these steps require a version of movement. Depression is easily reinforced by stagnation therefore movement is one of the strongest tools in your toolbox.

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Healthy and Happy Holidays: Setting Healthy Boundaries During the Holiday Season

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Healthy and Happy Holidays: Setting Healthy Boundaries During the Holiday Season

As the holiday season approaches, there is often talk of it being “the most wonderful time of the year” with increased emphasis on joy and celebration. However, the topic of stress and/or increased sadness related to holiday functions are often overlooked. Whether it may be feeling increased pressure, toxic family dynamics, financial difficulties, or any other concern; the holidays can negatively impact our own mental health if we are not taking care of ourselves. In gearing up for the holidays, it is important to develop and be aware of our own personal, healthy boundaries.

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Tough Topics: Talking to Your Child About Mental Health

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Tough Topics: Talking to Your Child About Mental Health

Talking to your child about any topic can be difficult at times, however, the discussion of mental health can be particularly tricky. There could be many reasons why this topic is tip-toed around, but it is important to address if you are worried about your child, so you can assist them in receiving proper mental health treatment.

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G.L.A.D. Technique: An Engaging and Effective Grounding Skill for Depression and Anxiety.

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G.L.A.D. Technique: An Engaging and Effective Grounding Skill for Depression and Anxiety.

When one is feeling depressed and anxious, the G.L.A.D. technique is a grounding skill one can use to be more mindful in the moment and to experience positive distraction until strong negative emotions pass, as to reduce the possibility of impulsive reactions as impulsive reactions may not be an effective response in the moment. Try this practice out daily in order to notice positive shifts daily.