Self-Management of Depression

We have all heard the phrase “every cloud has a silver lining,” which suggests that there is something good in every outcome, no matter how difficult or challenging the situation may be. This is also relevant when it comes to using optimism as a tool to overcome depression. When going through the throes of depression with its propensity to see everything in a negative light, being optimistic can be challenging. However, one can still find optimism even in adversity and suffering as did Victor Frankl during his years in the World War II Nazi concentration camp (Frankl, 2006). Frankl describes “tragic optimism” as: Feeling optimistic in the face of tragedy Making the best of any given situation Turning suffering into a human achievement and accomplishment Using guilt as an opportunity to change yourself for the better Using the knowledge that life is transitory as an incentive to take responsible action If you can learn to identify something good in a bad situation, then finding the one...

In layman’s terms, hope is the expectation that your future can somehow be better, no matter the present circumstances. In contrast, psychologists define hope in a more structured way so that they can measure this attribute. According to them, hope is the pursuit of your goals with the knowledge that you have the capacity and the motivation to achieve them (Snyder et al., 2006). In other words, hope has two key elements: 1. A sense of successful determination in meeting past, present, and future goals. 2. A sense of being able to generate successful plans to meet the goals. The first element is called the agency , and the second element is called the pathway , which, in layman’s terms, translates into the will and the way, respectively. These two components of hope are reciprocal and work synergistically but are not synonymous (Snyder et al., 1991). People with the will to achieve their goals may not have the ways to do it and vice versa. Both the will and the way are necessary...

What are Self-affirmations? When going through a rough patch, we have all been reminded by our well-wishers to use positive self-statements such as, “I am okay" or “I can do this.” Known as self-affirmations, these statements demonstrate one’s adequacy usually through writing positive statements about one’s core personal values (Cohen & Sherman, 2014). When things don’t happen as planned or when you have setbacks, self-affirmation statements provide you with a tool to defend your positive self-image by bolstering your self-image (Critcher & Dunning, 2015). Self-affirmations work by enhancing your self-integrity – an image of oneself being able to control important adaptive and moral outcomes in one’s life. Self-affirmations broaden your perspective beyond a particular stressful situation by reminding you of your other strengths and resources that are not limited by the situation at hand (Cohen & Sherman, 2014). This in turn helps you put things in perspective, disengag...

From Greeks and Romans to the preamble to the American Declaration of Independence, the pursuit of happiness has been a sine qua non of the good life . One of the biggest puzzles for philosophers through the ages and modern-day psychologists is to define the factors that influence happiness. Research has suggested three such variables (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005; Ryan & Deci, 2001). 1. Happiness set point: Studies have revealed that around 50% of the variation in the happiness levels between individuals can be accounted for by genes. This happiness level is assumed to be stable over time and people tend to return to their set point after being exposed to a positive or a negative event. However, this doesn’t mean that individuals with a low baseline set point cannot increase happiness. Researchers have now discovered that most individuals return to a positive emotional baseline rather than a neutral emotional baseline following an emotionally significant event. Moreover, this so-call...

Psychologists define savoring as the ability to tune in to, appreciate, and enhance the enjoyment associated with a positive experience (Bryant & Veroff, 2007). Though you can savor the past (positive reminiscing) or the future (anticipatory savoring), in its most widely used clinical application, savoring refers to intensifying and prolonging the enjoyment of positive events as and when they happen. A savoring experience consists of your sensations, perceptions, thoughts, behaviors, and feelings when you mindfully attend to and appreciate something positive (Bryant et al., 2011). Common examples of savoring include eating a gourmet meal, listening to a musical performance, soaking in a warm bath, receiving a compliment, spending time with a good friend, enjoying the outdoors, or winning an honor or reward. Besides positive things happening around you, you can also savor internal thoughts or feelings (e.g., that you are blessed with good health). However, just because you experien...

Self-compassion is compassion turned inwards, i.e., how you relate to yourself in instances of perceived failure, inadequacy, or personal suffering. Self-compassion involves being touched by and open to your own suffering, not avoiding or disconnecting from it, generating the desire to alleviate your suffering, and to heal yourself with kindness (Neff, 2003). While much has been written in the popular media about strategies, including  well-known meditation exercises such as  loving-kindness meditation , to enhance self-compassion, the attributes that foster it  haven't received much attention. Self-compassion is not a one-size-fits-all intervention that will work for everyone, which is why knowledge of these attributes will help you decide if this can be an effective strategy for you. Paul Gilbert and colleagues, leading researchers in the field of self-compassion, have identified the following attributes as being quintessential to experiencing self-compassion (Gilbert, ...

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...

When asked about  their meaning in life, most people launch into a rambling monologue about the  sources  that create meaning in life, such as family, relationships, work, hobbies, and spirituality . Or, after a nervous chuckle, they try to change the subject. Truthfully, what exactly meaning in life means is not easy to define and, not surprisingly, meaning in life often gets confused with other states of mind or psychological constructs. It gets mixed up with happiness (which is more akin to pleasure and immediate satisfaction), identity (which involves a more global sense of self), well-being (which is more reflective of quality of life), and the search for meaning (which involves seeking meaning) (Hill, 2018). Why is this abstract concept of meaning in life so important? Research shows that having meaning in life helps you interpret and organize your experiences, build a sense of your own worth, identify what matters to you, and direct your energies more effectively. ...

What is Hardiness? A lot has been talked about resilience in popular media and, regrettably, most of these discussions don't go beyond the oft-repeated wellness strategies. In this context, hardiness is a psychological construct that contributes to resilience but has received little attention. Previously labeled as existential courage, hardiness is a pattern of attitudes and strategies that together facilitate turning stressful circumstances from potential disasters into growth opportunities. Hardiness functions as a resistance resource in buffering the effects of stressful events and thus contributes to resilience. The 3 Cs of hardiness that help hardy individuals cope better with stress are as follows (Kobasa et al., 1982): Commitment: Commitment is the belief that no matter how bad things get, you will stay involved with whatever is happening, rather than sinking into detachment, passivity, or avoidance. Commitment helps you have a generalized sense of purpose that allows you t...

What is optimism? We live in a society that obsesses over positivity, and pop culture continues to push optimism as a tool for seeking happiness. Avoiding jargon and using common-sense terms, optimism is looking at the bright side, seeing the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, finding the silver lining in a cloud, feeling good about your future and the future of the world, believing that defeat is a temporary setback and not your fault, and confronting a difficult situation and trying harder (Lyubomirsky, 2007; Seligman, 2006). From a psychological perspective, optimism has two key components (Segerstrom, 2006): A thinking bias toward focusing on and recalling positive experiences in your life. A tendency to view your goals as achievable and worthwhile. An important lesson here is that being optimistic doesn’t mean denying the negative, avoiding all unfavorable information, or constantly trying to control situations that cannot be controlled.  Benefits of optimism Besides p...

Mental health and mental illness are not the opposite ends of a continuum, i.e., if you are not depressed, it does not necessarily mean that you are mentally healthy. If mental health is considered as a separate concept from mental illness, then barely one-fifth of the U.S. adult population without mental illness would be considered mentally healthy or flourishing (Keyes, 2007). So, what is flourishing? Psychologist Corey Keyes argues that flourishing is a state of optimal mental health, characterized by individuals experiencing positive emotions and functioning well both psychologically and socially. The opposite of flourishing is languishing, a state of incomplete mental health characterized by individuals having lower levels of psychological and social well-being, who describe their lives as “hollow,” “empty,” “stagnant,” or “a void” (Keyes, 2002). The three key dimensions of flourishing – emotional, psychological, and social well-being – are described below (Keyes, 2007; Ryff, 1989...

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...

One of life's undeniable truths is that you will face failures. How one deals with these failures depends, among other factors, on one's compassion toward oneself and one's mindset toward adapting to failure. In this context, self-compassion and a growth mindset help you overcome your harsh inner critic, especially when failures lead you to judge yourself harshly, feel ashamed, or blame yourself. This article discusses how to use these tools in these situations.   Self-Compassion Put simply, self-compassion is compassion turned inwards, i.e., how you relate to yourself in instances of perceived failure, inadequacy, or personal suffering. The three components of the compassionate frame of mind are self-kindness, a sense of common humanity, and mindfulness (Neff, 2011). Let’s consider the following situation to illustrate how you can use three components to deal with an adversity that makes you critical of yourself. You couldn’t meet a deadline at work despite your best effor...