Process - Physician - Fraser Health Authority

Opposite Action StrategyHere is an effective way to start fighting back against depression. Catch yourself actingor thinking the way depression wants you to — then do or think the opposite. By doingso, you DEFY depression and take back some control, even if only for a short while.ACTIONS OR THOUGHTS THATSTRENGTHEN DEPRESSIONStay in bed when you feel too miserable toget up. Don’t attend to hygiene. Don’t getdressed.Punish yourself by calling yourself namesevery time you make a mistake (“stupid,”“loser,” “useless”)Worry about all your past mistakes, howbad things are now and how things couldgo wrong in the future.Talk excessively about depressingtopics or how bad you feel to anyonewho will listen.Withdraw, i.e. don’t go out, refuseinvitations, ignore the phone.Tell yourself that everything you do mustbe done really well, if not perfectly, or it’snot worth doing at all.Take on all your usual tasks and expect todo them as well as usual.Pretend that nothing is wrong and getexhausted by the effort to keep up a goodfront.ACTIONS OR THOUGHTS THATWEAKEN DEPRESSIONMake yourself get up even for a shortwhile. Attend to hygiene and get dressedeach day.Encourage yourself to learn from themistake and try again. You will do betterin life if you focus on what you do rightinstead of what you do wrong.Set aside a small amount of time per dayto worry and distract yourself from worrythoughts at other times. Use problemsolving skills on real problems.Deliberately choose lighter topics. Focuson others. Take timeout from depression— talk or limit it to a few minutes at atime.See or talk to someone for a shorttime each day, even when you don’t feellike it.Tell yourself that you just need tomuddle through, not everything needs tobe done perfectly. Dare to be average!Remind yourself that depressionseriously limits your energy. Set realisticexpectations that take into considerationyour depressed state.Tell others that your energy is low (orwhatever you feel OK sharing) and thatthis limits what you can do. Say “No!”CBIS MANUAL | MAY 2009ACTIVATION | 4048