What is Depression?
I think this video by Matthew Johnstone for the World Health Organisation (WHO) gives us a good idea of what to expect when we experience depression:
I have listed some resources below which I have found useful personally, and I believe these are an excellent place to start to help tackle anxiety and depression:
- Quick Guide to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) by Robert Taibbi
At a glance:
- It’s present focused, not past focused
- It’s focused on your thoughts, and how your thoughts make you feel.
- If you can change your thoughts, you can change how you feel, in the present.
- Unhelpful Thinking Styles [AKA “Stinking Thinking”] by Centre for Clinical Interventions
This is a useful list of very commonly used (but unhelpful) patterns or habits of thinking which once identified, we can start to change.
This is an expanded module from CCI on the same topic (Unhelpful thinking styles):
You might also want to check out this comprehensive article by Dr Matthew Whalley at psychologytools.com:
Whalley, M. G. (2019). Unhelpful thinking styles: cognitive distortions in CBT. Psychology Tools. Retrieved on 12/09/2020, from https://www.psychologytools.com/articles/unhelpful-thinking-styles-cognitive-distortions-in-cbt/
- 16 Habits of Mind Chart by Costa & Kallick (n.d.)
This is an extremely useful list from The Institute for Habits of Mind of not so commonly used (but very helpful) patterns or habits of thinking which once identified, we can start to use in place of “Stinking Thinking”.
http://www.habitsofmindinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HOM.Chart_.Horizontal.pdf
Here is a description of the same 16 Habits of Mind, together with their associated icons:
- The Mood Meter by Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (n.d.)
The Mood Meter is a graphical indicator of your current mood, in terms of high and low energy, and pleasant and unpleasant feelings, which can help you with moment by moment mood tracking to: 1) figure out where you are at, emotionally, and 2) to help name the emotion(s) you are experiencing in the moment. This particular tool is being pitched at children, though I suggest it’s simplicity is what makes it useful for people of all ages. Being visually orientated myself, I believe holding the primary colours in mind when checking in (e.g. “I’m feeling scared or sad (Blue), but I’d rather feel calm (Green), or “I feel angry (Red), but I’d rather be feeling brave (Yellow)”) can help to build additional emotional self-awareness and help you notice where you are at in the moment, compared with where you want to be.
https://www.greatschools.org/gk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Yale_Mood_Meter1.pdf
- FACE Covid – By Russ Harris
- Face COVID Infographic by Russ Harris
A great visual guide to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and summary of the steps in the above video for responding effectively to COVID-19. All the steps right down to Disinfect & Distance are a great reminder of how to use the ACT model and can be readily applied to everyday life, to embrace our key challenges.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YjGsKTP23PKVP-pSYRbDWvNoSYM47Xg2/view
- NDIS
Australians with a “significant disability” may be eligible for support through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS):
Understanding NDIS
https://www.ndis.gov.au/understanding
How to Apply