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In this video you’ll learn about the mental block that holds so many people back in anxiety and especially depression, and the essential skill to break that cycle. It’s the key to getting motivated. It’s called behavioral activation. It’s all about getting yourself to do stuff that’s good for you but you don’t feel like it. So in this video you’ll learn how to break the cycle of depression or immobilization, with behavioral activation.
When you’re depressed you don’t really feel like doing anything that will help you, not only does it sound like a lot of work and you’re exhausted, but also, you just don’t feel like it. You don’t feel motivated.
-“If I don’t feel like being social, so I won’t go out today”
– “If I feel anxious about having a hard conversation, it’s probably not worth the effort”
-Getting showered and dressed sounds exhausting, so I’m just going to stay in my pajamas all day, but then when I’m invited to do something – I feel insecure because I didn’t get dressed so I don’t go, and when I go to the store I know I look slobby so when I run into someone I know I don’t talk to them because I’m embarrassed, then I go home and feel even worse than before.
Behaviors lead to a cycle of lower mood
It’s easy to see this tendency we have when we’re anxious or depressed, we tend to pull back, to withdraw from things, including stuff we used to enjoy. And this makes you feel worse, and that perpetuates the cycle, making you withdraw more. And your motivation decreases.
I think people always assume the thought or emotion leads to the behavior, but behaviors also lead to emotions.
During Covid, lockdowns changed our behaviors – we spent more time alone, we couldn’t go out with friends, and many of the activities that brought us pleasure were out of reach. And, by simply changing our behavior, many people felt a change in mood. Rates of depression and anxiety approximately doubled to the point where around 40% of people reported symptoms and many people attempted to cope with substance abuse. This change in mental health had nothing to do with our inherent biology, it had to do with our behaviors.
I feel sad so I won’t go out, so then I feel sadder, so then I won’t go out more, so then I feel sadder.
But if simply suppressing behaviors causes mood changes, simply adding in behaviors can also cause mood changes. Have you ever gone out with friends, even though you weren’t feeling like it, and by the time you were done, you were feeling way better?
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Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life’s direction.
And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love
If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services.
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