Psychological Methods To Beat Depression

SELF-CONTROL TREATMENT

A powerful self-control treatment program consists of the following important components:

• Observing Yourself 

In the viewpoint of a depressed person, depression usually seems to come for no apparent reason and from nowhere at all.  Research has been clearly presented that positive events or activities lead to positive moods, while negative events lead to depression.  The depressed person must accept the fact that this is so, amidst having thoughts that the depressed feeling sprung out from nowhere.  So rate your mood on a 1 to 10 degree and keep a record every day of positive events and circumstances.  It is likely that your mood will mirror what is happening in your life.

We have seen that depressed people focus more on negative events of their lives and neglect or overlook positive ones.  They’re not wary of this situation and don't know they are doing this.  So, it is for your advantage to know the importance of making careful records and try to analyze what is happening in your life everyday. To do this, you must look for and record all gratifying events and activities, even little, trivial pleasant events. It is very important for you to learn again and see the greatness this world has to offer. Feel the invigorating atmosphere and smell the flowers. Don't forget usual things like sipping a cup of coffee, assisting someone, taking a walk, watching a bird, reading a book, taking kids to school, watching your favorite program, reading an advice column, going shopping, listening to music, making yourself attractive, visiting a friend, completing a chore, daydreaming, playing with children, playing sports, expressing an opinion, getting a long kiss, getting or giving a compliment, and the act of smiling. Jot this in your record book or so-called diary with a brief description of these pleasant events.

As that week of jotting down had passed, make a graph of your daily mood rating and number of pleasant events for that same day.  This must be done in the same graph. Then observe if your disposition doesn't go up and down according to how many pleasant events occurred that day. If so, this is a motivating push to increase the number of pleasant events in your life and to appreciate the nice things that happen.

Using this advice, you can have your simplified version of a "behavioral analysis" in which you would look for the previous situations and consequences of good and bad moods. Your objective in doing this is to find cause and affect relationships that can be used to boost your spirits and reduce depression.

• Taking One Small Step at a Time

Some depressed people get disappointed when their desire for a better outcome results to disappointments.  One main reason is because their expectations overshadow the essential details of how to get there.  Impractical anticipations, like having your grade as all A's, may also lead to frustration and a low self-esteem.  Thus, it is important to learn to have a well-defined plan, to set realistic goals and expectations, and to have some success experiences. It is valuable to be satisfied with small rewards and blessings. Thus, you must make a decision on some practical, possible, important self-help project that will boost your confidence and vitality, such as working out to have a stunning body figure, increased exposure to people, learning to play basketball, spending more time alone with your spouse, or anything for that matter.  Then, for each project goal set many clear and reachable sub-goals (small steps), perhaps things you could do every day.  Schedule your time, prioritize your tasks, and do all your best to become successful.  Jot down your progress in a diary or record book, along with the positive outcomes.

• Evaluating Yourself

As you know, depressed people feel that they are to be blamed when things go bad and they’re "just at the right place and at the right time" when things go well.  Here’s an exercise to help you realize your value and reduce your accountability for negative events.

1. Think of a recent memorable event. Describe it.
2. List the means on what and how the contributions of other people, as well as things beyond human control, were responsible for this situation.
3. List the ways in which your efforts, talents, skills, experience, appearance, etc. were accountable for this event.
4. What rate or percentage of the responsibility/ accountability for this event was attributable to you?