In this post, I made sure to consider different personality types as I created the 5 Tools To Begin Healing With Depression. These tools are designed to structure a commitment and an action plan toward beginning, continuing, or maintaining your depression symptoms.
While this blog post is focused on depression, these tools can apply at any time in your life for a variety of mental health needs.
#letsnormalizethat #LNT #takebackyourpower #tbyp #influencebeinghuman #mentalhealth #depression #mentalhealthtopics #psychology #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #therapytopics #lifestyle #wellness
5 Tools To Begin Healing With Depression
1.) Create, write, and sign a "promise" or "contract".
Committing to your process is where you begin. Period. Hold yourself accountable. I encourage writing this so you can see it with your own eyes. It becomes more real this way. Humans tend to take even themselves more seriously when they sign a promise to an obligation.
A short example may look like:
A Promise To Myself
Dear___[your name]__, [Insert Date]
On this date, I dedicate myself to my own healing process. I will hold myself accountable, through the ups, the downs, and the lows, to stay focused on alleviating my symptoms of _______ (in this case symptoms of depression).
I promise to be there for myself when I feel I need more support. I will check in on myself and ask myself what I need, then meet it. I will trust myself to be vulnerable when I need to make room for growth. I promise patience and self-compassion, as I know this journey takes effort and energy that feels difficult to access at this time. We will get to the other end of the bell curve together.
When I need more support, I will refer to my Resilience Plan to remind myself I can do this.
Sincerely,
[insert your signature] Date:______________
Ashley Lynn Simon, MS
Your mental well-being is an obligation.
Include equal commitment to the ups, the downs, and the in-betweens. If you feel that including a sort of Resilience Plan for the lows or heavier feeling middles is best for you right now, then include that, as well! See an example of a Resilience Plan and template below:
I included a blank version, as well, in case visualizing your own responses helps without my examples. Also, feel free to utilize this structure for your actual resilience planning! It's simple to mimic, as well, if you prefer writing styles like bullet point lists, journaling, symbolism (imagery), etc.
2.) Freedom Thinking
Using a Motivational Interviewing (MI) (Miller & Rollnick, 2013, p.21) tool called Freedom Thinking makes you stop and reflect on what is working and not working in your life to instigate change to meet your needs. With a focus on your strengths and the reason you are seeking change, MI moves you through the change process.
Ask yourself the questions:
Where do I envision myself 5 years from now if I make these changes? How do I feel about this?
Where do I see myself if I stay the same? How do you feel about this?
Which outcome do you want in your life? Why?
I've provided an example below that I created; however, please do this tool however works best for you. If you are an artist, create your responses. If you are a singer, write it in song. Maybe journaling is your go-to tool, so journal or create a list for simplicity.
3.) Make a weekly plan for a consecutive 30 days.
Then review, adjust, and continue to repeat this until you feel you no longer need the activity to reinforce your commitment.
A concept called "behavioral activation" I absolutely love. When breaking depression cycles keeping you in a routine reinforcing the life you want to change, behavioral activation can put action to your words.
Behavioral activation are activities that you use to break your depression cycle. They are scheduled so you see them blend into a fluid, new, healing routine.
One thing depression is talented at is convincing us we aren't good enough, motivated enough, or energized enough to start an activity. What if that one activity is something that can start a pattern of practicing something that interests you, meets your values, and makes you feel enjoyment again? Worst case scenario, you try something else because your initial activity didn't produce the healthy activity you aimed for. We all do that!
It's called being a human. Life consists of "going back to the drawing board and still hopeful" mindsets.
Use this concept to schedule in time throughout your day, as it fits. Any amount of time is great to start a baseline!
If you only have 5 minutes in the morning, then work with that. If your Saturdays provide more time, then schedule longer activities then. You can make it work however you choose, but make sure it meets your needs or else the activity becomes a burden.
We want to avoid dreading an activity that is supposed to be motivational and inspirational!
4.) How are you going to reward yourself with positive reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement is important for ANY of us (animals included) who are essentially in training for healthier habit-building and coping patterns.
It's simple: once you accomplished one of the scheduled behavioral activities, used the resilience planner, or even if you got out of bed and TRIED YOUR BEST (don't cheat on this one, actually if you put effort in only counts), reward yourself. You still began somewhere. Mark where you hit a wall and re-evaluate what method of motivation, inspiration, hope, and coping you'll apply when you feel similarly again.
Positive Reinforcement Examples:
Purchase that top you've been wanting if you can afford it!
Indulge in your favorite treat (avoid alcohol if you feel a reliance).
Give yourself a 30 minute break to do an activity you enjoy.
See that movie everybody keeps getting you pumped about!
Perhaps a spa day? Go get a manicure or a pedicure; something!
Include this at the end of step 1 in your contract or promise, even! Commit to your reward, as well!
5.) When you're ready, join a community authentic to your identity.
What do I mean by "authentic identity"?
Join a community that attracts and aligns with who you are, not one that forces you in or towards it. For example, if you dislike dancing and feel anxiety at the thought of doing it in front of others, don't join a dance class. If you aren't religious, think outside of religion.
If you find you are deeply drawn to pottery and creating art, look into local ceramics classes! Do you tell people that "fitness is a form of therapy" for you? Look for gyms and other fitness communities within your budget. Do you want to meditate and find it difficult to stay present? Join a yoga or mindfulness-based community.
The ONE rule is to do so when you feel you are ready, without using this as an excuse to stay isolated. Set a date for yourself to "check in" to see if you are ready to at least do a one-time demo of some sort.
Search around Groupon or Meetup (virtual meetups included)! Look on Yelp for local classes, there are options to access around you. Eventbrite is an awesome resource, as well!
In conclusion, I hope you find something helpful from these tools. Even an idea other than my own counts if this is the post it took to spark that!
Keep reminding yourself that you have dealt with difficult life situations and heavy emotions before. You did not, and do not, need to have liked it. Yet, you still are here today. Yes, you are facing another low mood or The Cycle of Depression, that's what being human is.
Now is the time to continue practicing your already earned growth. Pull from your strengths, values, and healthy support system now more than ever.
Author: Ashley Lynn Simon, MS, NASM PT | Creator of LNT Blog
"You have it in you, you can do this!"
What was I listening to while writing this post?
LNT: 5 Tools To Begin Healing With Depression
1.) My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) by Fall Out Boy
2.) Diva by Beyoncé
3.) When I Come Around by Green Day
4.) Love Drunk by BOYS LIKE GIRLS
5.) Neon Moon by Brooks & Dunn ft. Kacey Musgraves
6.) Do You Remember by Jack Johnson
7.) Capsize by FRENSHIP, Emily Warren
8.) Whole Again by Atomic Kitten
9.) Radio by Lana Del Rey
10.) fukumean by Gunna
11.) New Romantics (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift
12.) Portland by Drake, Quavo, Travis Scott
References
Miller, & Rollnick (2013). Enhancing Motivation for Change in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Updated 2019 [Internet]. Chapter 3—Motivational Interviewing as a Counseling Style (35th ed., p. 21). SAMHSA. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK571068/
Comentarios