How Action Can Treat Depression and Anxiety
Have you ever heard the expression “depression hates a moving target?” As it turns out, there may be some truth to that statement. Therapists and mental health professionals have long understood that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected and can influence each other. If we change one, we can change them all. Read on to learn how changing your behaviors can make you think and feel better - no talk therapy required.
The core assumption of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected. Makes sense, right? For example, if you’re thinking about how excited you are to go to a friend’s birthday party, then you will feel happy, and you will likely attend the party and enjoy yourself. Unfortunately, anxiety and depression can hijack this cycle. When we experience depressed thoughts, we feel sad and hopeless, and are therefore less likely to do the things that make us happy in the first place - connect with others, engage in hobbies, exercise, etcetera. When we’re anxious, we feel on edge and are likely to avoid anxiety-provoking situations, reinforcing the belief that the situation is scary and should be avoided.
CBT works by interrupting the vicious cycle at any of the three points - thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. For example, your therapist might teach you how to recognise cognitive distortions, or unhelpful thought patterns that keep you feeling depressed and anxious. In contrast, behavioral activation aims to interrupt the cycle at the behavioral point. The idea is that doing an enjoyable or meaningful behavior will make you feel better and think healthier, even if you don’t feel motivated to engage in the behavior at the beginning. For example, think about exercise. Most people don’t feel motivated to put on their tennis shoes and go to the gym, but once the workout is over, they feel happy and grateful that they followed through. The power of the feel-good behavior is strong enough to change the associated thoughts and feelings.
To boil it down to a one-sentence definition, behavioral activation is doing something that makes you happy even when you don’t feel like it. Examples of behavioral activation can look like:
Going for a walk even when you feel like staying in bed.
Calling a friend even when you feel like self-isolating.
Going to the event you’re anxious about, even if only for a short time.
Spending time in nature even though you’re drained from a long day at work.
Planning a fun activity for later today, even though you don’t feel like doing anything now.
Behavioral activation has the power to break the vicious cycle of anxiety and depression using simple, everyday actions. The best part is that you can use this outside of the therapy room. When you’re feeling depressed in between sessions, try engaging in one activity you used to enjoy or doing one small thing to care for yourself - the odds are, you’ll feel better afterwards. Of course, mental health disorders like anxiety and depression are complex, and behavioral activation alone will not fully address the issue. If you’re looking for a therapist who can guide you on the path to overcoming anxiety and depression, our experienced therapists at AWC are ready to listen.
