With depression in one form or another collideseveryone. Speech in this case is not about a medical problem and mental disorder, which only a doctor can help to cope with. Under depression, many people understand the prolonged attack of bad mood, anguish and depression, living in which, of course, it becomes very difficult. Accordingly, working and effective options for how to get rid of depression will be of interest to everyone. Depression is characterized by a state of depression, sadness and anguish. The person suffering from it, practically can not experience pleasure and other positive emotions. The whole world is not nice to him, and he does not want to do anything. Everything is falling from the hands, and the future seems sad and full of disappointments. Depression is very exhausting and will significantly reduce the quality of life. It is not surprising that a person wants to find a way out of this condition as soon as possible! Unfortunately, when it comes to serious clinical depression, then a person should be helped only by a doctor-psychotherapist. But in cases of prolonged bad mood, and even caused by explanatory reasons, you can do only psychological help. You can even try to do it yourself using the exercises and techniques described below.
What can psychologists offer us?
You will not see among the variouspsychotherapeutic directions of the most famous - psychoanalytic. Do not worry, it's not some ignoring of a whole milestone in psychology: it's simply impossible to engage in psychoanalysis on your own and get rid of depression alone by it - the inner psychological protection of the individual is too strong. They will not let you do it. In addition, the psychoanalyst is an expert with many years of psychotherapeutic training, possessing high qualifications, so necessary for fine psychoanalytic work. And only he can effectively "heal the soul" within the framework of psychoanalysis. Instead, we suggest that you get acquainted with other equally miraculous and effective directions in practical psychology, helping to get rid of depression.
Gestalt therapy: our experience is the son of difficult mistakes ...
Gestalt therapy is the daughter of psychoanalysis. It is based on the postulates of a flexible and adequate adaptation of the body to the constantly changing environmental conditions, the benefits of positive life experience and the need to understand yourself and your body. Each person is unique and original, and he has his own needs, feelings and sensations. If he does not listen to them for a long time, "clogs" them with some conventions and restrictions, then the body ceases to communicate this important information to the brain and apathy begins. It is she who mainly characterizes depression in Gestalt therapy - a state of lack of desire and energy. In case you have learned yourself in this description, then it is necessary to take steps to restore bodily sensitivity. This will be the first step towards how to get rid of depression. You need to learn to focus on yourself and your body, listen to all that it is trying to say. At first, a close person can help you in this, who will "outside" track all the changes that are happening to you: why do you have tears? What causes a smile, and what - fear? What gestures, poses and sights are typical for you when you want something? All these strong points will help you to learn how to hear yourself again. Maybe, at first you'll even need tips on the type: "Do you want to eat now?", "At this moment do you want to sleep?", "Do you want to have fun by watching your favorite movie?", Etc. ... Get a useful experience of attention to yourself, and the mood will improve. Sometimes depression is not something permanent - it is rather a guest coming to life of her own free will. And in this case it is very important to analyze the attacks of bad mood and to understand what or who causes them. Each state (including depressive one) has its own mechanism of switching on and off. In order to understand it, try to remember (and better write down in detail), in what situations you are bored with anguish and apathy, what precedes it, and what are your feelings, feelings and inner actions at that moment. Try to find something common in these states - most likely, this will be a typical mechanism of how you immerse yourself in depression. After the mechanism is found, it remains only to replace it with something kind and positive. Try to focus on some pleasant memory. It can be a shot from childhood or your recent trip to the sea - anything that causes strong positive emotions. You will need to try to imagine this memory in all its details, plunge into it and wander a little there. This can give you strength and good mood. You can also come up with some activities or phenomena that bring you joy, and try to implement them.
Cognitive psychotherapy: grief from the mind
Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov was right when he calledone of his most famous plays "Woe from Wit". These words are directly related to the causes of bouts of depression: as a rule, they are in our head. Attacks of self-flagellation, anguish and depression all very often cause all sorts of negative attitudes that we acquire throughout life, for example, "I do not know how to do anything," "I'm always unlucky," "I'm ugly," etc. ... They spoil our lives and make us believe in the worst. What are the ways of getting rid of them? In the fight against such installations, a technique called "the protocol of dysfunctional thoughts" has proved itself very well. Its essence boils down to the following: you take a sheet of paper and draw a table with several columns in it. The first is the date of the unpleasant event that happened to you. The second is a description of the essence of this most unpleasant event. For example, you nahamila therapist. The third one - what feelings and emotions you have caused. Usually this is the whole spectrum of negativity from resentment to depression. Fourth - what negative attitudes were activated because of the event. For example, when it happened, you thought: "Well, that's it! I'm so wretched that everyone is rude to me! ". The fifth column is the most important: in it you must write down alternative neutral or positive explanations of the situation. In the case of the "harmful physician", in addition to your "wretchedness" such explanations may be the poor state of health of your aunt, the boss, yelling at her, a small salary and a lot more. The more such explanations you come up with, the better. And so it is necessary to do with every event that knocks you out of the rut. This technique helps to shift the focus of attention from depressive-pessimistic to positive-optimistic. In the event that any insoluble situation causes you to be depressed, try searching for alternative solutions. Tell you a story that illustrates this technique: a thirty-year-old Marina, the mother of three, was in despair because her husband left her. It seemed to her that she "will not survive without him," because she is not ready for independent life, she does not know how to make money, plan the budget, etc. ... To begin with, she needed to identify problems: budget management, parenting and loneliness. At first they terrified her. But soon she remembered that she had a diploma of higher education. This served as the impetus for her to start solving the first problem - she was concerned about the search and quickly found the job of the secretary. After that, she felt the strength: the situation was no longer so hopeless, as was perceived at the beginning. The study of the remaining problems now did not cause her such horror: she thought out the ways with which she would instill discipline on children, and also remembered old friends and friends who had been forgotten in marriage. The mood for finding alternative solutions, rather than for dreary suffering, helps any person to become more active and come to their senses.
Art therapy: the art of enjoying life
Art therapy has long been known for its effectivenessin the fight against the widest range of psychological problems, including depression. Its main characteristic is unlimited opportunities for self-expression. Judge for yourself: a person who wants to get rid of negative experiences can "splash out" them in any kind of art. The choice of direction depends on the depth of the experience of the person and his skills. For example, with strong feelings of resentment or sadness, it is better to use clay or clay, rather than paint. You do not even need to set a specific goal for yourself, doing art therapy - you can simply immerse yourself in the process and surrender to it completely. However, if you wish, you can apply the exercises. For example, set a goal to draw your anguish. Listen to yourself and transfer to paper the image that arises in your head when thinking about your depression. Spend a lot of time on it, grind the details. When you're done, look carefully at the picture. Do not worry about its quality: remember that the main thing is not the aesthetic appeal of the drawing, but the depth of self-expression. What feelings and emotions does it evoke in you? Maybe you want to do something with him. Or you can, on the contrary, draw something very pleasant that will cause you positive emotions. Help your soul to plunge into itself: use all your imagination, for it is limitless! An interesting art-therapeutic technique is the creation of a collage. Take a large sheet of Whatman and start putting everything that causes positive emotions: drawings, spots of color, photos, clippings from magazines, pieces of cloth and leather, some other things and materials. Stick it all to the sheet and watch what happens inside of you during the collage process. Remember that there are no restrictions, and you can do anything with the collage - for example, color the fragments of the void or, on the contrary, leave them. Finish the job the moment your inner voice tells you. Examine its results. What do you feel about the collage? How would you call it? Try to postpone the collage and look at it in a few days. Has anything changed? And you? Psychology provides us with a lot of options for how to get rid of depression through various techniques and exercises. We remind you that they can be effective only on condition of their constant application, as well as in the absence of serious mental disorders, which you can reliably say only by a doctor-psychotherapist. Human possibilities are truly limitless. A mother can lift a car if her child's leg is stuck under the wheel. A woman can stand at the stove for days at a temperature of thirty-nine degrees, just to create a holiday atmosphere for her husband's birthday. And what are the possibilities of the student body before the session? That's the same! So do not deform and open up your potential for at least another ten percent - and a bad mood will stop chasing you, and he will be replaced by the rays of happiness and positive. We advise you to read: