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What's the REAL destination? |
One of the great problems with clinical depression is that
it attracts almost all of a person’s attention and energy. The temptation is to
focus exclusively on the ailment and its resolution.
As a consequence, many people find that most of their time
gets taken up with depression management strategies. Their days involve
appointments with physicians and therapists, consulting with other healthcare
professionals, taking naps, planning graduated exercises to get out of the
house, figuring out what to eat, trying to detect negative thoughts, and so on.
It’s exhausting.
Many of these activities are quite helpful. But they run the
risk of making the person’s life all about depression and not at all about
recovery or “normality.” All thoughts about “what will I do when I’m better”
are put aside until that day dawns.
But the handing of control over one’s daily life to the
illness sometimes serves to make it more powerful. And the relinquishment of
all one’s regular routines, pleasurable events, and goals for the future may
feed the very dragon we are trying to tame.
Consequently, I often invite depressed clients to imagine
that we had an instant and utterly effective cure for the depression – a magic
pill, or the waving of a wand. “So imagine for a moment that it’s gone. This
whole thing is over. If that happened, what would you do? What would you want
in your life?”
In other words, if your energy was back to normal and you
didn’t have to spend every ounce of it fighting the depression, where would you
like to allocate it?
I try to get as long a list as I can from the person. Some
of the items may not be practical right away, such as “I’d return to work
full-time.”
We can, however, usually identify a few activities the
person could start doing without waiting for the wand to have its effect. “I’d
see more movies” can become part of the therapy, as can “Take up my
hobby/sport/avocation again” or “See friends more often.”
The intent is to jump past the depression to the desired
outcome, and then spend at least part of our efforts aiming straight at the destination
rather than focusing exclusively on the barrier that seems to sit in the way.
I like to do this kind of work at least twice in the course
of therapy for depression.
The first time is when we first embark on the
journey. “What if, a few weeks or months down the road, the depression is
completely gone? We follow you around with a video camera for a week. We can’t
see what you are feeling or thinking, but we can see what you are doing. What
would we see?” This enables us to make the reclaiming of at least part of this “well
life” an early task of therapy.
I like to revisit the question once the person has made some
real progress. Their energy is better, and their ability to envision a
fulfilling life is likely to be greatly enhanced. “So you’re doing pretty well.
Imagine you take this pill (jelly bean) and it’s completely over. You don’t
have to focus on the near horizon of depression recovery any more. What do you
want to include in your life?”
Most people imagine that they will recover in sequence: They
will begin feeling a bit better. Then their motivation will begin to return.
Then they can begin to take on the elements of a better life.
The sequence is perfect, but backward. “First you will begin
living at least a bit of the life you would like to have if you were not
depressed. Then your motivation will return. Then the mood will lift.”
We need to leapfrog past the depression to the real
destination. Then we need to make that destination at least a part of the
therapy - in addition to the symptomatic and stabilization work we may be doing.
Online Course
Want to know more? Our clinic has developed a cognitive behavioral guide to self-care for depression. Though not a substitute for professional face-to-face care, UnDoing Depression may be a useful adjunct to your efforts. The preview is below. For 50% off the regular fee of $140 USD, use coupon code “changeways70” when you visit our host site, here.
We also have courses for professionals and for the public entitled What Is Depression, What Causes Depression, Diagnosing Depression, Cognitive Behavioral Group Treatment of Depression, How to Buy Happiness, and Breathing Made Easy. For the full list with previews and substantial discounts, visit us at the Courses page of the Changeways Clinic website.
Blog Post Request:
ReplyDeleteWhat would be the categories and testing protocols for a psychological skills competition?
My wife and I were talking about triathlons. Triathlons differ from other sports because they test fitness qua fitness, whereas other sports test fitness in service of some other goal. In basketball we are fit to be good at basketball; in triathlons, though, we are fit to be fit. Sure there is skill involved in biking, swimming, running, and transitioning; basically, though, triathlons are a test of fitness.
Similarly to fitness, psychological skills are usually in service of some goal (with some exceptions). Sure, it feels good to relax, but we also learn relaxation skills to be productive at work, and we practice assertiveness skills to have better relationships.
It would be fun to read a blog post about the psychological equivalent of a triathlon (or decathlon). What would be the three (or ten) categories? Maybe we would test relaxation first, then assertiveness, and then goal setting. How would each category be tested? Would such a competition be useful to society?
If you're up for it, my wife and I would enjoy reading about this; it would be especially fun if you salted in some more interesting ideas about psychology.
Cheers,
Anonymous.