Perhaps the most effective approach in the last 40 years for dealing with depressing thoughts and feelings, has comes from research in the field of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). To learn more about CBT check out Step 4 under the 7 Pillars of Brain Health on Strategies for Overcoming Stress . There you will find the following paragraph and link to a webpage featuring a lecture and illustration of how this can be used to reduce anxiety by David Burns, M.D., one of the lead pioneers of CBT, and one of the top experts in the world on alleviating depression. In that article is this simple and paragraph, with a key instruction.
“Learn to see stressful situations from a different perspective or point of view. For example, many anxious or depressing thoughts actually arise from inaccurate, limited, or distorted interpretations of events, and many problems may be seen as opportunities for learning or impetus for making improvements. (Click on this link to a great website on this topic with a TED talk by our friend David Burns, M.D. (read down or skip down a few pages to David Burns), on how he got into this, and why this approach works better than meds. That website also offers examples with worksheets and suggestions to help visitors work through their own distortions.”
If you struggle with anxiety or depression we would strongly recommend reading his new book Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety. (His earlier book Feeling Good, was a classic in this field, but he has some new more effective strategies in this book – now available through Amazon. We suggest starting with Chapter 31, then reading the first 3 chapters and Chapter’s 17, then the rest as you have time. It’s a well written, fascinating book, which teaches in detail an empirically proven process.
Does this work? Yes! Exceptionally well! In fact in one study people who simply read Feeling Good, his first book, found that more helpful than therapy with a live counselor, or prescribed medication.
Other related therapies to pursue that have been built on the principles of CBT or mindfulness, which we may elaborate on in the future include:
Meditation
Mindfulness
Heart Math
Neal Nedley, M.D.s Depression and Anxiety Recovery Program
NDE based suicide prevention
The Power of Awe
The Power of gratitude
A Refocus on helping other
The Power of Faith & Prayer
