There are some clear differences between anxiety and depression. The heightened awareness that is common in anxiety disorders, is completely absent. I am claustrophobic, so I do know the feeling. Currently I'm too tired for that level of awareness. The limited amount of energy that I have, should be used as efficient as possible. So now I can crawl into small spaces without any fear, as I use all my energy to crawl... there is no energy left to be anxious.

The biggest difference is the state in which I am. Currently I am very depressed and as such doing pleasant activities will not trigger depression. I used the example of writing poetry, which I used to like. Writing poetry does not trigger depression, but it reminds me now of a very dark time in my life. So it is no longer a pleasant activity. Why would I do a non-mandatory activity that is not pleasant? I don't like to watch American Football and I never have. Watching for hours won't make me like it. So during a low-level depressive episode, doing pleasant activities will allow me to recharge. But in a severe depressive episode, the recharge may or may not take place.... and in the future that specific activity will be connected to a severe depressive episode.

I don't want to sound negative, but I'm currently a bit hesitant to do things that I always used to like. I used to do things I liked during depressive episodes, but many of those activities are now linked to previous depressive episodes. E.g. during one episode I used to write poetry and prose to write myself out of the depression. Writing poetry now reminds me of one of the most traumatic events in my life and brings me back to one of the darkest corners of my being. The few fun activities (besides drinking) that are left, are too dear to me to sacrifice them for a (temporary) recovery. 

Maybe when I have figured out my core believes I will be less hesitant....

Members,

Don’t forget to pencil in your pleasurable activity for the week. According to some experts, depression is caused by a lack of pleasant activities. What are pleasant activities? Pleasant activities are simply things you like to do.

The basic idea is that when people are not depressed, their lives are made up of a wide variety of activities, some pleasant and positive, some unpleasant and negative, and some neutral. According to the theory, in order to be “happy” you need to have at least some positive activities in your life. Also, people stay depressed because they have at least the usual share of unpleasant activities but not enough pleasant activities. One of the solutions to overcoming depression is to try to schedule more positive and pleasant events in your life; this will help to get the balance between pleasant and unpleasant activities closer to what it is for people who aren’t depressed.

One of your most important jobs in this program is to take the risk of actually testing some of your predictions about what will happen if you try to do something pleasant or pleasurable. Because any experiment can go wrong, we’ll want you to repeat some experiments to see what happens each time. You don’t have to believe that you’ll enjoy the activity; you just have to be willing to try and see what happens. Think of yourself as a scientist who is performing experiments on your moods.

If you’re having some trouble coming up with some activities, here’s a list of some simple activities to get you started:

Going to a party
Going to a religious function
Going to the park
Going for a drive
Playing a musical instrument
Making a meal or a snack
Skiing
Having a beer or glass of wine with friends
Visiting with family
Bird watching
Drinking a cup of tea
Meeting someone attractive
Trying a new recipe
Going to the library
Eating a good meal
Going to the mall
Practicing a martial art
Listening to music
Playing Frisbee
Getting a good sleep
Going to a museum