Here are two tips that will help you better understand your assumptions and core beliefs:
Identify the events linked to the start of your sadness or depression:
Another important way to uncover your negative core beliefs is to think about what was going on in your life around the first time you were experienced a long period of sadness or depression. One thing you can look for is a match between what happened in that situation and what your specific assumptions and core beliefs are.
However, remember that no matter who you are, it’s important to look at both your needs in relationships and your needs for success & enjoyment in other parts of your life.
Examine your childhood experiences:
In general, the strongest core beliefs and assumptions develop earliest in life from interactions with parents and other caregivers. They also develop more from interactions with school peers and friends. Your history of adolescent and adult romantic relationships is also something you should consider because they could contribute to the development of some of your beliefs about yourself and others.
How do you think your past has affected your present?
Great idea for Ruby. Session 6 of the online program walks you through the process of keeping a thought record. When you notice a change for the better or worse in your mood, stop, and as soon as possible write down exactly what the situation was, what you were feeling, thinking, what you did, and what happened next.
The first few often take quite a while to complete. However, the payoff is that after some time and practice you will have a much better understanding of the relationships among your thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
Great to have you join in on the forums. In addition the online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program is an important resource and provides a lot of great tools. Take your time as you work throught he various session. And take breaks when you need them.
CBT is really effective when you do the homework. Worksheets help you track your homework exercises and CBT is a lot of work!
As you move through the Depression Program the worksheets will change as you change. Make sure you give yourself time to do the homework properly - you know your depression best so it's really up to you to decide how often you do your homework. Take your time when you do your homework, there is no rush!
Each session in the Depression Program is based on previous sessions, and if you track your mood with your Mood Tracker (and keep notes in the spaces provided) you'll see much improvement over the coming weeks.
At the beginning of each session we give you a Weekly Review, which allows you to see how far you've progressed. We save your Weekly Review results in your Session Diary, so you will see a collection of results, which are all based on what you write in your worksheets.
CBT is a lot of work but the good news is that if you follow the program it will all come together for you as you start to feel better.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any other questions or concerns.
Dance and Movement Therapy has been used for approximately 100 years to improve the mental and physical well- being of a person. Today, it is also taught as a means to focus a person's mind and body. This process can contribute to an overall better health. Dancing is recognized as an art and can increase ones self-expression and helps people connect with themselves and others. Dancing is a form of art that offers individuals a way to explore psychological roots to overcome certain illnesses such as depression. Research have shown that dancing provide benefits that can help minimize depression’s effects.
Are there any people that have had personal experience with the therapeutic benefit of dance?
We will now discuss strategies to help you meet your goals for developing healthier core beliefs.
Defining core beliefs: One of the big problems with deep sadness and depression is that everything seems like a big cloudy dark mess. And because everything seems so tangled, all problems seem impossible to solve. Seeing your problems this way can lead to bigger problems such as hopelessness. Looking at one core belief at a time is essential to slowly untangling the problems.
An example to help you along…
Many individuals describe themselves as being a “loser” But what does that mean exactly? In order to change it, we must define it. Here are a few ways to look at it:
• No friends?
• Not being able to make friends?
• No job?
• No money?
• Ugly?
• Stupid?
Now by breaking down the idea of “being a loser”, it’s given us a definition that is concrete and that we can challenge. Before doing that, you should replace the negative core belief with a positive one. For this example, we will use successful. (Don’t forget to define this idea also as we will use it again later.)
Please define a core belief you want to work on. Need any help?
MDD is a serious problem. The good news is that there are many effective treatments available. In fact, over 80 % of people with MDD are eventually able to manage their depression with proper therapy or a combination of therapies. Many feel much better just weeks after starting treatment.
While bipolar disorder is a chronic illness that currently has no cure, staying on treatment, even during well times, can help keep the disease under control and reduce the chance of having recurrent, worsening episodes.
Do not let these or any other reasons stop you from getting the right kind of treatment. If you have MDD, it's very important to get help, just like you would for any serious medical illness. For example, most diabetics will do what they can to get proper medication and make required changes to their diet and lifestyle. Most people with heart problems do the same. MDD is just as serious as diabetes or heart problems, so you should do everything you can to get medical help.
Don't be discouraged from getting help by anyone who says, "It's nothing to worry about," "It's just stress," "It's all in your head," "Snap out of it," or "Get over it." While the person may mean well, the fact is that people who have not had depression often have trouble understanding how serious the problem is.
Common Reasons for Not Seeking Help
People manage to convince themselves that their depression isn't serious
People think that their depression is their "personality"
People often feel embarrassed about talking about depression and anxiety
People often blame themselves for their problems
Others dislike the idea of medication or therapy
People often say that they've sought help but are frustrated because their condition was not diagnosed or treated effectively
Do not confuse your depression with your personality. You're not a "miserable person" - you're a person with MDD, and help is available.
Are you receiving outside assistance? If not, what is holding you back?
Along with the classic symptoms of depression (sadness, feelings of guilt, suicidal thoughts…) most people with depression also have significant anxiety symptoms. Although we tend to think of depression as being a condition of low arousal, slowing down or even hibernation, depression is often associated with high arousal, speeding up and agitation.
On the other hand, people with anxiety disorders commonly experience many of the symptoms associated with depression.
Are you experiencing both sets of symptoms? Are you having trouble managing your symptoms?
We all know what it is like to be afraid. Everyone’s been afraid of something at least once in their lives. And fear is good. It’s a basic human emotion and is just as important as other emotions like happiness, sadness and anger. Our ability to experience fear is very important. Without the ability to experience fear we’d be in big trouble.
Fear is an emotional and physical response that’s common in all animals. It’s been developed over millions of years and has helped humans survive real threats.
If you’re either in fight or flight mode you’ll feel a number of things: an increased heart rate, shortness of breath, sweating, flushing, shaking, restlessness, agitation, edginess or jumpiness. Increased heart rate, breathing & sweating prepare your muscles for action. Flushing, shaking, restlessness and agitation are the result of changes in blood flow and the release of chemicals like adrenaline that prepare your body for maximum effort in a short period of time.
The switch for turning the fear response on is very sensitive. And it’s important to know that fight or flight response doesn’t last very long – a few minutes to a half hour at most. When the fear response (fight or flight) occurs in situations that are not dangerous or life-threatening, it is called a panic attack.
Do you suffer from panic attacks? What are their frequency? How long do they last? Any triggers?
As previously discussed, panic attacks falsely trigger the fight or flight response. Some individuals may wonder “why can’t people learn to ignore it?”
Well, people with panic disorder experience the fear response in situations that are not dangerous. You know that already. You probably know that people are also really good at learning things. In fact, people are so good at learning that all you have to do is give them one bad experience. For example, if someone has a panic attack in a specific situation, let’s say an elevator or a grocery store, they’ll learn to associate that situation with panic attacks. In this case learning leads people to expect panic attacks in elevators or grocery stores. When people worry, they get anxious. When they get anxious, they increase their chances of having a panic attack. What can result is that people will worry so much about having a panic attack, that they’ll avoid elevators and grocery stores at all costs.
What most people without panic disorder can’t appreciate is the intensity of fear people with panic disorder.
If you get anxious, please tell us what you feel like? What are you anxious about?
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