[best Tips] Self help for depression

 hi and welcome to the first module in  this self-help program for depression.

the goal  of this program is to introduce a  variety of methods .  techniques that  can help you with your depression. increase your quality of life the  material is based on the same  information.  framework you could  expect by going to a professional  psychotherapist with a key difference  being that we've made some adjustments  to make it possible for you to work on  your depression independently. the entire  program is free of charge. is  available when you get the time it's  divided into smaller modules where you  decide your own pace many of the modules  include homework assignments that are  important to complete unfortunately one  cannot expect a positive effect of this  self-help program.

if one doesn't  complete the homework assignments but  another way it's not enough to learn  about depression you must also take  specific actions, if you wish to get rid  of it  many of the modules include additional  contact on a specific topic this and other information .  .   introduce some important concepts during  a lifetime everyone will feel that  things can get difficult it's completely  normal to experience sadness fatigue  sorrow grief .  other challenging  states. emotions as a consequence of  demoing life experiences. but this is  not the same as being depressed. if  you're depressed then you have fallen  into a destructive pattern that you're  stuck in if you have for a period of  several weeks felt sad or down most of  the time .  lost interest in activities  that you previously lacked then this may  be a sign that you are depressed.

depression affects your thoughts  feelings behaviour is what you do . your body  during a depression your thoughts can be  characterized by negativity . self-criticism

here are some examples  I'm worthless this is my fault  I should pull myself together. I'm a  loser it would have been better for  everyone else. if I didn't exist I cannot  get anything to work nothing good ever  happens to me your feelings can be  characterized by a sense of emptiness.  but it's also normal to feel irritable  frustrated unhappy indecisive sad . overwhelmed many report feeling guilty  of something or low self-esteem  your behaviour is what you do can be  characterized by seclusion .   inactivity you may stop doing activities.

you previously enjoyed you may also find  it difficult to carry out daily  activities and tasks some people may  attempt to use alcohol or drugs in an  attempt to feel better while others may  get stuck all day in front of a computer  or TV screen with content that they  don't particularly enjoy. the person can  also be felt in the body you may get a  sense of feeling ill or tired most of  the time one can also have headaches  body paints, stomach problems and sleep  problems. it's not unusual to lose  appetite .  thus body weight but the  opposite can also happen where you  comfort yourself with food .  gain  weight as a result these four aspects  are called the cognitive diamond it's  important to point out that all these  aspects of the Conte diamond affect each  other mutually can form a pattern  that maintains the depression.

the goal  of this self-help program is to break  this pattern with something called  behavioural activation .  we'll talk  more about that in the next module a  doctor or psychologist might give you a  depression diagnosis if your symptoms  have lasted for several weeks.

young  excluded other possible causes for  example: it's important to rule out  whether your symptoms are caused by a  bodily disease or a side effect of a  drug. you're taking therefore we  recommend that you talk to a doctor . tell him or her about your symptoms. if  your depressive can  is triggered by another mental disorder  for example anxiety disorders .  eating  disorder a personality disorder or  substance abuse . it's generally  recommended that you treat the  underlying condition rather than  starting treatment for depression.

if you've had poor sleep on  average three days a week for three  months or longer then we recommend our  self-help problem for insomnia if you  feel that your insomnia is worse than  your depression then we recommend  starting the insomnia treatment first  the person can be categorized in terms  of severity .

how the depression  affects your daily life .  functioning  in the case of mild depression one can  follow up on most activities .  work  but you experience discomfort moderate  repression is characterized by having  great difficulties with carrying out  your usual activities it often leads to  sick leave from work .  other  adjustments if you're severely depressed  then you might not be able to function  at all in your daily life .  therefore  you need a lot of help a severe  depression may require hospitalization  at the psychiatric hospital this program  is tailored for those who suffer from  mild to moderate depression. if your  symptoms are more severe then you should  consult your doctor .  get the referral  to a psychologist or psychiatrist that  treats depression this is especially  true if your perspective has gotten so  dark that you're having suicidal  thoughts if that's the case then you  really should get help right away the  emergency room is usually open while  most doctors can be contacted in the  case of an emergency you might also  consider a depression hotline for  support or try talking to a family  member or a friend the person is a very  common problem for example research  shows that around 20% of us will  experience depression at some point in  our life for most people the depressive  symptoms simply fade away completely by  themselves so depressive  results are sometimes called the common  colour of Psychiatry to reflect this but  we want to point out that even more  serious episodes of depression usually  disappear by themselves  in one study Dutch researchers followed  up on 82 adults with their diagnosis  major depressive episode the researchers  were particularly interested in this  group because they for various personal  reasons did not receive any kind of  professional help .  despite of this  the researchers found that their  depressive symptoms gradually  disappeared with only 25 percent still  depressed after 10 months milder cases  usually subside a little faster than  more severe forms while risk factors  such as drug or alcohol abuse little or  no social support a history of  depressive episodes .  early onset of  depressive symptoms increase the  likelihood that the episode lasts longer  so if you're goanna remember one thing  from this first module it should be that  depression has a strong tendency to  subside over time generally speaking .   that is true even for those who do not  get any professional help this fact can  be important to keep in mind.

write with a pen or a  pencil either one is just fine one thing  we want to highlight is that depression  is not as one-dimensional as we might  have given you the oppression of in  reality there are very many different  ways of being depressed. where self  descriptions can very enormous Lee from  person to person  some I feel that the term depression  doesn't really cover their situation would rather say that they're tired  burned-out have low self esteem for  poor mood lustre spirit stressed-out  melancholic etcetera depression in this  sense is just a big label that will put  on a lot of different experiences. it's  practical  easy to use a big label  like this but it's not very specific or  nuanced but when it comes to this  program it doesn't really matter all  that much because research tells us that  the techniques that are presented in the  program can work across all the  different dimensions that light beneath  the depression label just that there are  many different subjective perspectives  on depression there are also many  different ways of getting out of  depression .  most of these does not  involve professional assistance other  alternatives include adjusting your  lifestyle seeking new relationships or  reaffirming all one's find a new hobby  changing jobs readjusting your  priorities etc but if you've tried other  strategies or don't know how to proceed  . if you're willing to put in some  work .  effort into trying something  new then we highly recommend that you  engage in this self-help program lastly.

we would like to point out that you may  want to repeat important modules several  times in order to remember the  information that's presented this  program is about - learning something  new .  this makes repetition a valuable  tool this is especially true in the case  of depression as research indicates that  depression can make it harder to  remember new information a goal of this  self-help program is that you increase  your awareness of how you're affected by  your environment .  your parents of  behaviour the first step in this process  is to fill out your own version of the  cognitive Diamond the question you need  to ask yourself here is how this might  depression impact my behaviour feelings  thoughts.

Thank You