Measuring Depression: Physical Signs

One strategy used to measure depression is to look at the physical traits that are around the person.

*How organized is their home, bedroom, or office? Is it typically this way?

  Was it this way before they were depressed?

*Are they keeping up on their physical hygiene? Do they remember the last time they   showered or brushed their teeth?

*Is the vehicle they drive being regularly maintained?

 *How is their yard or balcony? Are indoor plants being cared for?

By looking at the physical surroundings, you can start to get an idea for the internal state of the person. If the person is recently depressed, you can compare recent behavior to past behavior. The cleanliness and completed tasks are a way to measure varying levels of depression; typically the more disorganized and undone things are, the deeper the depression may be.

For me personally, I know I am feeling the best when my yard is cared for, my children are clean, and my dishes are done. Some other things may be falling apart (I can't be perfect!) but these three areas are key peices of insight to my mental health.

I also find that the previous areas (yard, children, and dishes) are coping strategies for me. I enjoyed reading Ginger's blog today on how she used her coping skill of nature (inSERIOUSLYsane: The Healing Power of Nature).

Finding God in Trauma

One exercise I have been developing for helping abuse victims heal from trauma is developing a conversation with diety. I give the assignment for the client to write out what a conversation would look like. We then process how that conversation would feel. We then use this conversation as a way to anchor an alternative feeling to the abuse as a way to de-sensitize and help the client visualize another reality to the abuse.

This is an example one of my clients gave me permission to use:

I imagined that I had a conversation with the Father. He told me things would be hard down here. I nodded and said “I am Strong.” He told me that things would happen to me that I wouldn’t choose and that He wouldn’t choose for me, but that He wouldn’t intervene because of His plan. I told Him I trusted His plan and repeated, “I am Strong.” And “You can depend on me, Father.” He said the things I would see, He would be there for and He would send others. I told him I would watch for them and I would believe in Him. He said, “Others will want you to give up, they will teach you to hate me, that I am the source of your pain. You will want to believe them. The choice will be yours, but I believe in you. I believe you can live through it and heal through it.” I was confident and said, “I will be strong. You can trust me.” He said, “Others will cause you pain but I will place angels and sentinels to be by you.” I told him that I would watch for them. He told me that I would question His plan and His existence. I promised that I wouldn’t and He cried. He said, “Down there, earth there are people hurting my children. I see them and I hear their pleas. I need one, one to hold them, comfort them, and understand the abuse they’ve seen. You will hurt, but I will heal you. You will cry and I will send one to wipe your tears. You will heal, and then heal my other children. You will give them what I have given you."

I personally believe that healing from abuse happens in many stages and based on the client, spirituality can be one way to help the individual find peace.

Free Audiobook: "A Biblical Approach to Anxiety"

I was uploading my free "Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom and thought I'd see what else Christain Audio had to offer.

As I like to provide alternative ideas to dealing with mental health concerns, the title "A Biblical Approach to Anxiety" stood out to me. Even better that it is free today.

I'll do a review of it once I've listened to it. If you've read it, what were your thoughts?

Defeating Negative Thoughts

Negative thoughts typically have a place and a purpose in our lives. Some therapeutic professionals refer to negative thought patterns as "thinking errors." I don't really think that it's an error in thinking, rather a problem with logic.

Plus, tell someone they are using a "thinking error" and you're likely to get an earfull. At least that was my response when someone told me I was engaging in a thinking error. I went "closed channel" pretty fast!

Some of the most common negative thought patterns (or thinking errors, if you like) have fun little names. I don't know where the names originated but I've seen them in multiple places and many therapists know them and teach them to their clients. The point of that is to help them identify an illogical thought and then change it.

I'm not a therapist by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not licensed. I'm not giving professional, paid advice. Just my opinion. However, I think you have to figure out the FUNCTION of the illogical thought pattern before you can change it.

If you are or are working with an insightful client (or even a client with a normal to high IQ) exploring the function of the pattern shouldn't be difficult. I'll give some basic examples:

Closed-Channel: This thinking error means I stop listening and engaging in the conversation. Pretty obvious how it might be helpful, if I use this than I get to ignore you and I don't have to change my behaviors. That would be my personal reason, but if you're the one using it, you should consider WHY?

Black and White: This thinking error means that I see things as one absolute truth or another. There is no middle ground. I like this one because it means for me that I can say that I will always be fat and then it relieves the guilt I have for not exercising. Also, my personal reason.

Blaming: This is a fun one! It means I don't have to take accountability for my actions. I can blame my genetics, my income, or my children/parents/spouse for my eating choices that lead to being overweight. Awesome! I no longer have to feel guilt or anxiety about this problem.

These are the three that I see frequently in myself and others. Once I know that their function is to relieve my anxiety, I can then find other healthier, more effective ways to deal with the anxiety the problem causes or to directly approach the problem I am masking.

Identify thinking error + Identify function of thinking error = new strategies to resolve problem

Over-coming Depression: Step One

Okay, so probably not step one for most people, but a good place to start is to Consider life without depression.

Be specific. Make a list. Some journal or assignment prompts:

*What would I do if I felt better?

For me, I have a huge long list of things that pile up I would definately hit that hard if I had the energy, drive, or just plain felt better.

*How would I look if I felt better?

I have never been a fan of make-up, so that wouldn't be on my list. I would definately shower, fix my hair, and change clothes. I would wear contacts.

*Some days are worst than others. How do I know it's a good day?

For me I know I feel better on days I shower. When I make lunch for my kids (instead of letting them eat Oreo's for lunch!).  When I wash the dishes.

*How would my spouse, child, co-workers respond if I did things differently?

For some, this is a BIG question. Sometimes depression becomes a part of your identity, especially if you've had it for a significant amount of time. How do you let go of that identity?

These are some ideas on things to explore with yourself (journaling, blogging), a spouse or close friend, or if they are harder to answer maybe with a trained therapist or physician.

Imagining a life without depression can be one way to give yourself hope that you will feel better someday. Knowing what a good day means to you is one strategy for starting to recognize when you do feel good and to fully take advantage of that day or moment the fog lifts.