Category: For Mood
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What Maintains Low Mood? Perpetuating Factors Of Depression
In life, feeling sad from time to time is a totally normal experience. When we experience loss, we feel sad and grieve – whether it’s a loss of a loved one, a relationship, or an opportunity (like not getting a job that you wanted). However, when sadness turns into prolonged episodes of depression, that is…
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Treatment Goals For Depression For Patients Starting Therapy
Introduction Depression is a very common psychological problem that many people endure at some point in their lives. The symptoms of depression can be very distressing and impact important areas of our lives. For example, work, school, family, social connections, and our interests and hobbies. Symptoms of depression include: Importantly, depression is different from normal…
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How Happy People Stay Happy – A Therapist’s Opinion
Happiness is a very important goal for most people. However, the art of being happy is surprisingly challenging and most folks find the goal of always being happy – or even being happy sometimes – pretty elusive. I’m not an expert of happiness by any means (besides being a fairly happy person myself). Throughout my…
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Examples Of SMART Goals For Depression
SMART Goal definition and use in depression SMART goals, as an acronym, stands for goals that are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound. If interested, here’s a post that goes into further details about what a SMART goals is and how to create SMART goals. In therapy, SMART goals are often used for people…
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How To Treat Seasonal Affective Disorder: A CBT Perspective
Seasonal Affective Disorder: An Introduction As the days grow colder and shorter, and the nights grow longer during the transition from summer to the autumn and winter period, it is unsurprising that people experience a worsening in how they feel. As individuals from House Stark like to say – “Winter is coming”. Seasonal Affective…
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Four CBT Techniques That Are Helpful For Depression
Self-Help CBT for depressed mood Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective evidence-based treatment of depression. Its principles revolve around changing thoughts and behaviours that lead to low mood. This approach can be pretty helpful in depression because depression can impact both our thinking and our behaviours. For example, people with depression may have negative…
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Four Reasons Why Thought Records Do Not Always Work In Depression
How do thought records work in CBT? The primary idea in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is that our thoughts and behaviours can affect how we feel. By changing the way that we think or behave, we are able to effectively break through negative cycles that keep our anxiety or depression (or other symptoms) going. One…
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Diagnosing Depression: What Clinical Psychologists Look For
The purpose of diagnoses When we diagnose a person with a psychological disorder, it’s purpose is not to create stigma or to generate as many potential diagnoses as possible and label somebody with every disorder under the sun. Diagnoses are meant to be helpful. They are way to understand a person’s current challenges and determine…
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How To Deal With Postpartum Depression Using CBT Skills
Introduction New mothers have it tough. Having a baby and introducing a new member of the family to take care of is a full-time job. These new responsibilities are already challenging for a regular healthy person. It’s even harder for mothers who experience postpartum depression. Unfortunately, postpartum depression is quite common: research suggests that nearly…
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Incorporating Values To Guide Activity Scheduling In Depression
Introduction Depression tends to really limit a person’s world. When we are depressed, our body pulls for rest and our brain tells us to sit down and do nothing. Consequently, the lack of activities and positive reinforcement in our lives perpetuate the cycle of depression ad infinitum. Activity scheduling is an evidence-based cognitive behavioural strategy…
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