Self-Management of Depression

If you are receiving mental health care, the treatment plan is a key document that you will develop in collaboration with your treatment provider. The treatment plan lists your treatment goals, the types of interventions that will be used, and how outcomes would be measured. In addition to these generic elements of a treatment plan, a personalized treatment plan also incorporates your strengths, needs, vision of your own recovery, and desired quality of life.  6 key elements of a treatment plan A successful personalized treatment plan has the following six attributes (Adams & Grieder, 2005): Is centered on your goals and values Respects your experience in dealing with your mental health issues Addresses not only managing symptoms but also learning to successfully cope with life’s challenges and building resilience Empowers you to move toward self-management of your mental illness Focuses on positive functioning in a variety of roles and building positive relationships Is orient...

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 boring 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 and ...

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 conjures up in most people's minds when they think about mindfulness is of a person in some kind of Yoga pose breathing mindfully. Well, mindfulness certainly goes beyond these stereotypical characterizations across popular media. There are practical ways to approach mindfulness, which appear less amorphous than what some traditional practices may look like, and this article talks about 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 somet...

When feeling depressed, one tends to often 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 you to consider ...

What Constitutes Resilience? When adversity strikes, we are reminded to be "resilient." But what does it really mean to be resilient? For starters, resilience is not a single entity but a broad array of abilities for constructively and positively adapting to risk, adversity, or some monumental negative event (Dunn et al., 2009). Implicit within this definition are the two critical components of resilience – experiencing an adversity and a positive adaptation to it. Positive adaption has variously been defined, and the general consensus is that it connotes not only an absence or low levels of psychological symptoms (e.g., anxiety or depression) but also competence to meet societal and cultural expectations (Masten, 2001). The good news is that resilience is not a personality attribute that is fixed but is a dynamic process that individuals can develop (Luthar et al., 2000). In other words, no one is “born” or “naturally” resilient; it is something you learn and develop o...

Achieving goals feels good – it is inherently satisfying to exercise your skills, talents, and abilities to get or accomplish what you desire in your life (Emmons, 1996). In addition, achieving goals that are consistent with your interests and core values, i.e., meaningful goals, enhances feelings of well-being and also satisfies your basic psychological needs of experiencing competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Sheldon & Elliot, 1999). Goal attainment also enhances well-being by positively influencing other facets of your life as described below (Sheldon et al., 2002): Changes in your self-concept (e.g., you view yourself and your capabilities in a totally new way) Changes in life circumstances (e.g., you gain valuable new opportunities or a new intimate relationship) Changes in basic attitudes or philosophies regarding living, which may transform your general mood and well-being Approval from others that enhances your global assessment of yourself So how does one ch...