I think it is great to make everyone aware of a full spectrum of therapies for depression. I would just like to add regular physical activity and exercise to this list.
I have found that for me, exercising everyday has really helped to improve my mood and my capacity for dealing with other problems in my life. Although my motive was solely to improve my mental health, I also lost some weight and now feel more confident about my physical appearance (not bad side-effects!).
I admit, it was difficult at first to get started on a physical exercise regime, considering I had been so inactive for so long. My goal when I began was to exercise just three times a week, and over the course of several months I have bumped it up to seven days a week. I do an assortment of activities (sometimes just walking), most of which I can do outside, because fresh air is also very important for my personal well-being.
I encourage everyone who is suffering from depression to get active. As long as you don't push yourself beyond your limits, the results a guaranteed to be positive for your body and mind!
I think the mood tracker is great. Before I started using it, I tried to monitor my overall daily mood in a journal on a scale of three (good, moderate, bad), but I would often neglect for days at a time. With the mood tracker, there is an obvious gap when I miss a day, so I am more likely to be consistent about reporting my mood.
I like how the simple interface produces a nice visual graph, so I can detect trends (e.g my depression seems to be lowest on weekends and highest in the middle of the week). I also find it helpful that I can make notes about my day, my moods and my negative (or positive) thoughts.
Since I do not take medication, I sometimes wish that there were boxes to monitor my other therapeutic activities, like meditation and physical exercise. I do track theses things on a separate piece of paper, but it would be nice to have them all in one place!
I have been working through session 5 for a couple of weeks now and I find that it takes 30-45 minutes for me to complete one thought record. I really like to think things through and analyze them and I am really good a challenging thoughts. However, I am susceptible to rumination which can lead to that downward spiral of negative thinking. I find that doing a thought record can often trigger rumination instead of deter it. Also, I notice that by the end of the exercise, my feelings and moods have changed very little. I've tried giving myself time limits to complete the thought record, but I usually just end up with an incomplete entry.
Has anyone else had similar experiences or does anyone have solutions to recommend?
I am wondering if anyone has tips for completing thought records everyday?
When I first starting challenging my negative thinking with my therapist, there was no structure. I would write long journal entries about my negative thoughts and equally long essays challenging them. I found it helpful and insightful, but it took so long, I could not envision doing it everyday.
What I like about this program is the worksheets that give structure to thought records and the examples that give some context of what a thought record looks like. I am now getting into the habit of doing thought records when I have negative thoughts at home and can fill out a sheet right away. But I only seem to be doing three or four per week (which is still more regularly than before).
However, I have difficulty keeping track of negative thinking patterns when I am away from home. Do other people carry around a little notebook to jot down a quick thought record? I am open to trying this, but I think I would feel awkward pulling out my journal in the middle of a crowded bus to furiously record my thoughts, or during a get together with friends. Are there any other tips out there for making thought recording a consistent habit?
4) Send a short note or card to a grandparent, niece, or old friend. Everyone loves getting mail and I feel better about myself knowing that I've brightened a loved one's day. And maybe they'll write back!
5) Play that song that you cannot resist tapping your toes to. Allow your body to dance if it wants to and see how you feel.
6) Do laundry and reward yourself by taking time to savour the warm embrace of your favourite hoodie directly out of the dryer.
I hope that this is still something that DC is planning on doing. I was a little dismayed at first when I realized I would have to print off the sheets. I don't have a printer so I end up making my own versions of most of the worksheets, with some variations as needed. I now have a folder full loose papers that is getting pretty ridiculous.
I've also struggled with defining rewards. I really enjoy fresh air activities, but doing those things are my goals/pleasant activities. It seems like I would be denying myself those physical health benefits and mood-lifting opportunities if I only allowed myself to do them after I completed some other task.
I considered using material rewards, like buying myself a new jacket if I completed all my goals for a month. But I don't like shopping and I am quite frugal so I did not actually end up purchasing the jacket.
I have recently come up with an idea for a new creative writing project that I am really excited about. Since it is a non-essential, purely leisure activity, I have decided to use spending time on it as a reward for completing other goals. So far in January I was physically active everyday. I am quite proud about this and I will reward myself by spending an afternoon at the library or coffee shop working on my writing. Also, I meditated for 20 out of 30 days so far this month. If I can meditate more than 20 days next month, I will reward myself with another afternoon writing session.
I think the hardest part about defining rewards is finding something that you desire so that it motivates you to complete your goal, but is separate from those pleasant activities you need to do in order to improve your mood. For those who are really struggling with finding rewards, I think it is more important to just do the pleasant activities (even if it is the only thing you do all day) and use the satisfaction of actually doing it (as opposed to not doing it) as your reward.
9) Sign up to volunteer for a one-off event (e.g. at a local community club or for a charity race). It's a minimal time commitment and elevates my sense of self-worth.
10) Get out of the city and go for a walk in a forest or nature park.
It’s been a while since you were active on this site. Please extend your session below
You have been logged out due to inactivity.
Please sign back in.
We use cookies to help us learn about how our platform is used and how we can improve your experience. To
learn more please see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
