Simple Techniques to Deal with: Anxiety and Depression.
In addition to helping folks with their relationship issues, I also help them with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, trauma, and addictions. (drmartytashman.com).
With the start of the New Year, I will give you a number of “common sense” suggestions on how to deal with “challenges” you are facing.
Here are three techniques that I suggest to my clients who are struggling with the above issues.
Technique #1 The two minute rule –
If you don’t feel like doing something, promise yourself that you will do the task for two minutes and then stop.
This doesn’t always work but, the reason it might is, that you “prime” your brain in the direction of the task. Often times, getting started is half the battle. What happens we talk our selves out of doing what we need to by thinking too much. the Nike commercial puts it well when it says “just do it”, as sometimes we over think things an overwhelm ourselves into inaction By doing something for just two minutes we make things into bite size pieces and have started the ball rolling. For example if you know you should exercise, just commit to doing it for two minutes. If there is a report you should do just commit to spending two minutes to get all the information on your desk.
Technique #2 The Keep a Journal or Log rule
If you are concerned with changing or accomplishing something (sometimes I do this with clients in therapy) dedicate yourself to keeping a journal or a log. This can be a small separate notebook (low tech) or a word document (high tech) and write the effort(s) you have made to relate positively to that issue. What psychologists have know for years is that something you pay attention to is something you are likely to change.
Technique #3 Ask yourself the right question.
Here is the right question: “What am I learning from this?” A mistake is only a mistake if you don’t learn from this.
Don’t be fooled by the obvious quality of these techniques – change comes by actually doing them.