Depression has been the buzzword for the past few years as the world starts to see and realize the importance of mental health and well-being. But what is depression? Can cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT help treat depression?
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What is Depression?
Depression is a common mental health problem that causes constant feelings of sadness, low motivation, and low moods. It is also often linked with psychological symptoms like changes in eating and sleep patterns.
Symptoms of depression can range from mild, like experiencing a low mood or having bad days for several weeks, to more serious and significant changes in perception. Depression can also result in intense feelings of utter hopelessness. People may also experience recurrent episodes of depression or may even suffer for a few years from chronic depression.
Although the cause of depression remains unclear to this day, researchers and healthcare experts are at a consensus that people develop depression because of a traumatic event, a serious loss, a sudden change, or a major life incident. But adverse experiences during childhood and genetics can also cause depression.
The following are the most common symptoms of depression:
- A loss of enjoyment or interest in activities
- An inclination to cry without any trigger
- Decreased self-esteem
- Guilty feelings and irritability without an obvious reason
- Lack or low levels of motivation
- A recurrent feeling of sadness
- Suicidal thoughts
- Thoughts or attempts of self-harm
CBT Techniques to Address Low Moods Due to Depression
Therapists who specialize in CBT use several techniques to help their clients with depression symptoms improve their low moods. These include the following:
- Behavioral activation
A person who is highly depressed might become unable or inert to do things they normally do. The state of inertia further fuels depression, leaving the person stuck in nasty cycles.
The goal of behavioral activation is to break the cycle by setting relevant action plans and goals that will boost the feelings and moods of the client.
The step involves engaging and enjoyable activities to help the client associate these with better well-being and a more positive mood.
- Behavioral experiments
One of the major aspects of cognitive behavioral therapy is to conduct experiments that shift the association of the client with specific life situations. A person with depression may refuse to believe that their mood can improve with physical activity. It explains why CBT therapists ask their clients to perform experiments where they will do some form of exercise and record what they feel afterward.
- Thought recording
Thought recording helps clients become more attuned to the negative thoughts surrounding them and their life situations. Clients with negative thought patterns remain in a vicious cycle of experiencing symptoms of depression.
Depression is a serious concern that must be addressed sooner than later. With the help of CBT, it is now possible for people with symptoms of depression to deal with their problems more easily.