Depression Management

When you are depressed it is difficult to accept that you can change the way that you feel. You can alleviate your depression when you change the negative, self-defeating thoughts that accompany depression. When you are depressed it is easy to think the worst about everything you do. Contrary to popular belief, you can easily lie to yourself, exaggerate your deficiencies and even be abusive to yourself. If you have a situation that upsets you, and you find yourself feeling depressed, it is helpful if you:

1. Describe the situation, with particular attention to the thoughts that you had prior, during and after the situation.

2. Write down each negative, self defeating message that you gave yourself.

3. Ask yourself to honestly assess the truth of that message. Is it 5% true or is it 100% true. Rate the truth of the message from 0-100%.

4. Check out each message to identify the distortions present. Examples of cognitive distortions include:

All-or-Nothing Thinking
Overgeneralization
Mental Filter
Disqualifying the Positive
Jumping to Conclusions
Magnification, Catastrophizing, Minimization
Emotional Reasoning
Labeling/Mislabeling
Personalization

(From The Feeling Good Handbook by David Burns)

5. Choose a more realistic and rational response to the upsetting situation. Refuse to beat yourself up. Consider more positive ways to view the situation and manage it more appropriately.

Depression is something that can compromise the quality of your whole life. You can learn how to manage it through developing depression management skills. As a counselor, I deal with depression issues on a daily basis. I focus on helping you develop the necessary resources to help you change your life and thoughts. If you are interested in learning more, please contact me at:

Karen P Allen MMFT, LMFT, LPC

503-254-1533

Contact Us