Self-Management of Depression

What is Reminiscence? According to the Oxford Dictionary, to reminiscence is to “indulge in the enjoyable recollection of past events.” Interestingly, embedded in the definition of reminiscence is the positive emotion of joy. Reminiscing is more than just flipping through an old photograph album; it also involves reflection and reconstructing your memories. It is a process of discovering and re-discovering who you are today by making linkages between disparate aspects of your life, your families, and your communities (Gibson, 2011). You can reminiscence in various forms – mental image, speech, writing, poetry, drawing, painting, drama, mime, music, dance, or some other medium of communication. Literature on reminiscence identifies two types of positive reminiscence that lead to well-being and decrease in depressive symptoms (Watt & Cappeliez, 2000; Wong & Watt, 1991): 1. Integrative reminiscence: This involves accepting one’s past as worthwhile, reconciling the discrepancy...

Although we have all heard the medical profession touting the health benefits of physical activity and exercise, most of us don’t regularly engage in this inexpensive health-promoting behavior. In addition to preventing chronic medical conditions, growing evidence demonstrates that physical activity and exercise improve mental well-being and have a buffering effect on depression. A review of the literature showed that a higher level of baseline physical activity was associated with decreased risk of developing depression in the future (Mammen & Faulkner, 2013). Even low levels of physical activity, such as walking less than 150 minutes per week, can prevent future depression. Another study demonstrated that individuals who engaged in physical activity for more than 30 minutes a day had a 48% lower risk of being depressed at follow-up compared to individuals who didn’t engage in physical activity (van Gool et al., 2006). Interestingly, the same study also showed that each minute of ...

The word "acceptance" has been thrown around as a coping style, especially in situations one cannot control. However, what needs to be clarified is that acceptance comes in all sizes and shapes, ranging from radical acceptance to practical acceptance. This is where mindful acceptance , as propounded in the evidence-based  Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) , offers a more structured way of putting acceptance into practice. Mindful acceptance is a self-management style that helps you accept your thoughts and emotions at face value without doing one of these six things that your idle mind is programmed to do during downtime: Dwelling on your thoughts or emotions Analyzing or overanalyzing your thoughts and emotions Judging yourself or others Avoiding situations that remind you of specific thoughts and emotions Suppressing your unhelpful thoughts and emotions by forcefully trying to push them out Trying to get rid of negative thoughts and emotions by distraction or other in...

What are Hot Buttons? We hear a lot about the importance of emotional intelligence in personal and work life. However, tangible and easy-to-use strategies to cultivate emotional intelligence without psychobabble are hard to find. One simple strategy to increase awareness of your and others’ emotions, a key component of emotional intelligence, is identifying your hot buttons (Lynn, 2007). This technique is useful in gauging your reactions during an emotionally charged or high-stress situation and makes you aware that there may be other ways of reacting to a situation rather than the usual fight-or-flight response. Hot buttons are events, words, phrases, situations, or a combination of these things that set off an immediate and intense negative emotion in you. People may not be intentionally trying to push these buttons, but your defensive reaction may drive them away. Thus, recognizing these hot buttons and not letting yourself give into these will help you maintain healthy interperson...

On an average, most people spend more than 90% of their lives indoors (Woodcock & Custovic, 1998). Contemporary urban lifestyles along with increased time spend on screens has also led to people spending less time outdoors and disconnecting with nature. This detachment from nature takes a toll on an individual's mental health as research has shown that nature exposure has a positive influence on psychological well-being (Bratman et al., 2019). Some of these benefits include an increase in positive emotions, happiness and subjective well-being, positive social interaction, a sense of meaning and purpose in life, and a decrease in risk factors for mental illness, especially depression. In addition, a review of studies on nature-based outdoor activities showed that these interventions improve depressive mood and reduce anxiety (Coventry et al., 2021). Noticing nature is a proven nature-based well-being intervention. In this practice, you pay attention to the feelings evoked by nat...

What is Mindfulness? If your notion of mindfulness is a practice starting with a phrase like, "Take a deep breath and close your eyes," then you have mostly bought into the myth that the only effective way of practicing mindfulness is guided meditation .  However, if you know what mindfulness entails, you can incorporate it in your daily routine in an informal way without relying on popular apps that have commercialized a practice known to humans for thousands of years.  Mindfulness-based interventions are well-validated treatment approaches that not only promote well-being and resilience but also have been found to be effective in anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and substance use disorders (Wielgosz et al., 2019). Mindfulness has two components: (a) orienting one’s attention purposefully to the present moment, and (b) approaching one’s experience in the present moment with curiosity, openness, and acceptance (Bishop et al., 2004). The state of mindfulness is described as ...

Through the ages, philosophers, poets, and scientists have tried to make sense of the concept of meaning in life. In simplistic terms, people experience the presence of meaning in life when they (Steger et al., 2008): Comprehend themselves and the world Understand their unique fit in the world Identify what they are trying to accomplish in their lives Although there are objective ways to measure one's level of meaningfulness in life, the concept remains riddled with misconceptions. This article discusses common myths and their corresponding facts (Duggal, 2018).  1. Myth: Meaning in life is a long-term pursuit that may take years. Fact: Meaning in life differs from man to man, day to day, and hour to hour, and what matters more is not the meaning in life in general but the specific meaning of an individual’s life at a given moment . Meaning in life can be a vocation or mission to carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment (Frankl, 2006). 2. Myth: One has to find m...

Conflicts and arguments are an inevitable part of any relationship. However, there are strategies that will help you either avoid conflicts or handle them more constructively. The article discusses three such techniques.  1. Don’t do the “ABCDE” behaviors during communication The acronym “ABCDE” refers to certain types of communication behaviors that increase conflict in a relationship and include the following (Duggal, 2016): Accusation: Accusations usually are “You always …” or “You never…” statements. Accusations may have some kernel of truth in them, but that gets exaggerated and dramatized by the heat of the argument. Accusations lead to counteraccusations and defensiveness, and take the focus away from one’s own shortcomings and from resolving the conflict at hand. Blame: Individuals may blame their partner’s actions for a problem or blame their mental illness, moral weakness, or personal inadequacies for the problems the couple is facing. For example, “If you had taken tho...

When it comes to exercising, we have our usual litany of excuses, and some of the familiar ones include: “I don’t have enough time.” “I am too out of shape.” “I am too sick.” “I already get enough exercise.” "I don't have the right kind of equipment." “Exercise is boring.” “Exercise is painful.” “I am too embarrassed.” “I am afraid that I might fall.” “I am too tired.” “I will look silly.” “I am afraid I will hurt myself.” “I am too old.” “It is too cold or too hot.” “I will not do it right.” If you find yourself using one of the above excuses for not exercising, then one of two things is happening here. First, you may be making wrong assumptions about your ability to exercise (e.g., I don’t have enough time, exercise is tedious or painful, or I am too embarrassed). Second, if the issue is genuine (e.g., it is too cold or too hot, or I don't have the right kind of equipment), then you may not have done enough to find a solution. While changing your wrong assumptions a...

Emotional intelligence has become a modern-day buzzword. Academics, self-help coaches, and management pundits have written millions of words and filled hours of airtime explaining the meaning and importance of emotional intelligence. But when it comes to enhancing this trait, one is left with the arduous task of sifting through a mountain of psychobabble to tease out pragmatic, easy-to-use, and workable strategies.  So, what is emotional intelligence? In psychological terms, it is one’s ability to engage in sophisticated information processing about one’s own and others’ emotions and the ability to use this information as a guide to thinking and behavior (Mayer et al., 2008). In plain English, it means using your emotions intentionally and intelligently to improve your well-being. Emotional intelligence increases with age and experience. Research shows that people with high emotional intelligence are likely to be more socially competent, have better quality relationships, and are v...

Much has been written about the benefits of mindfulness. While there are several ways to practice mindfulness, the image that comes to most people's minds when they think about mindfulness is of a person in a yoga pose, breathing mindfully. Well, mindfulness certainly goes beyond these stereotypical characterizations across popular media. There are practical ways to approach mindfulness that appear less amorphous than some traditional practices, and this article discusses one such practice. Before we delve into the details of this particular practice, it would be prudent to first define what mindfulness exactly means. In simple terms, mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness of your present experience with curiosity, openness, and acceptance. Knowing what you are doing while doing it is the essence of mindfulness practice (Kabat-Zinn, 2013). Mindfulness is not approached with an attitude of getting to someplace better, or getting something, or fixing what we don’t like. Min...

When feeling depressed, one often tends to overlook the positive moments that one experiences because negative, irrational thoughts make one  disqualify the positives  in one’s life. However, we can home in on positive feelings and experiences even when feeling depressed by reflecting on and reliving moments of joy and well-being. The three ways you can accomplish this are below: Track What is Working Well You may use a well-being diary  for this strategy. In the diary, you monitor the thoughts and events surrounding periods of well-being for the last 24 hours and record them every evening. This active recording of moments of well-being serves four purposes (Otto & Smits, 2011): With depression making you focus on what is not working well in your life, keeping a well-being diary makes you adept at searching out the good moments. It helps you relive the good moments and feel the pleasure again when you review these moments in the evening. It helps ...