How to Live With Depression

 

A few weeks ago I discussed anxiety. This week I will discuss depression. As with anxiety, please seek out counseling if these methods presented here do not work. People with severe depression may need to seek the aid of a counselor.

Many of the methods used to aid with anxiety will also work with depression. You might want to review the post on anxiety where I discussed accceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

A technique that is acually a metaphor helps explain how a person suffering from depression can live with it. The metaphor is called Tug-of-War-With-a-Monster. You are engaged in a tug of war with a montser over a deep chasm. You tug on the rope, and the monster tugs back. Closer and closer you get to the chasm as the monster tugs on the rope. How do you solve this problem? Do you continue to tug on the rope? No! You let go of the rope. The point? Give up struggling with depression. We make depression worse by stuggling with it. We make depression worse by trying to control it on our own. This does not mean we may need medication though, but trying to fight depression makes our plight worse.

A similar metaphor the Struggling-In-Quicksand Metaphor where we sink if we struggle in quicksand as seen in old movies. Stop struggling, and the actor floats to the top. Again stop struggling with depression.

Minfulness meditation is another method. Mindfulness is again not aimed at controling our emotions. In mindfulness, we simply focus on the breath, and if we get distracted by a sound, smell, or other sensation, we focus nonjudgmentally on the sensation and then bring our attention back to our breath.

A final method is Join the D.O.T.S. Exercise:

(1) Write down what you do to distract 

      yourself.

(2)  What activities to you opt-out of or 

      avoid to cope with depression?

(3)  What thinking strategies do you use          to cope with depression?

(4)   What substance and other                      strategies do you use to cope with            depression?--DOTS

How might these strategies not work in the long term? What is it costing you? Have you tried too hard? It is a vicious cycle. What emotions are showing up? Are you interested in trying something new? If the answer is, "yes," stop stuggling with depression.

As mentioned in the anxiety post, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is a paradigm shift from most other therapies in that it does not promote trying to control, distract, or denigrate psyciatric conditions, but living and accepting our condition in a healthy way.

Again, if these methods do not work please seem out a counselor, especially a counselor that uses ACT

I hope this post on depression helps. If the methods contained herin do not work or your depression is too severe, please seek the help of a counselor. There is no shame in doing that

This week's Support Group

 

This week the support group will be Saturday 5 September 2026 at 1:00 pm.  This week we will be meeting at the Eegees located at 243 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ The closest street is 5th ave. This week will be an open forum. We now have a Google Meet link for those that have an issue leaving their home. It will be up at this meeting. Please see this message's footer for the link. 


See you then

Regards, 

John

Support community location: 243 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ
Community Office Phone: (520) 314-6896
Community web site: www.tucsonautismadvocacy.org
Community  social   networking site: https://www.meetup.com/Tucson-Adult-Autism-Support-.
Google Meet link: To join the video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/hnz-opbt-mos

Personal Development for Autism

 

One of the thing I do during the day is engage in personal development. Its not about really fixing myself, but more about learning accept myself.

For example, when life hits hard, I tend to not do well. I want to prepare myself for another event like this. So I picked up Russ Haris, M.D.'s book When Life Hits Hard. I have learned about the reputation of Dr. Haris  in my career as a mental health counselor. So I purchased his book. As a mental health counselor I also took two of his professional workshops and he is good at his work. He has a new workshop out on autism for professional counselors. Dr. Harris has published several self-help books like When Life Hits Hard. For those that might be interested in Russ Harris' work please click here.

Autism and Anxiety-How to Cope When Life Hits Hard

 

The number of people that are developing anxiety is increasing and more people are entering counseling because of it. This post is going to present some methods that might help those with mild to moderate anxiety. If these methods do not work or if you have severe anxiety, please seek out a counselor.

For those that have mild to moderate anxiety some approaches from a form of counseling called acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) will be utilized. ACT was created by Steven C. Hayes in the late 1980s. Two of the hallmarks of ACT is the inevitibility of human suffering and to stop struggling with that suffering. 

There are several methods that can be used, not to stop suffering, but to embrace it. One of those methods is to practice self-compassion. According to another well known ACT practitioner, Russ Harris, self-compassion is encapsulated in this sentence: "acknowledge your pain; respond with kindness."

Can you feel your pain? Do not engage in any distracting actions. Do not obsess about your anxiety. Feel the pain. Acknowlege it. Next respond with kindness. After feeling your pain, what kind words can you say to yourself? Do not forget to say some kind words to yourself. It could be something as simple as saying, "I am hurting; now I am going to say something kind to myself."

Another method is dropping anchor. Dropping anchor is a combination of meditation, movements and stretches. It's better to listen to a dropping anchor routine than read about it. If you are interested in listening to a dropping anchor routine, click here.

A final method is finding your values and creating behavioral goals for yourself. What are your values? Mine are family, knowledge, human rights, and justice; in that order. If you do not know what values you have, do some reflection. Again I ask: what are your values? Once you determine your values, create  a few  goals arising from each value. A goal-oriented life creates a meaningful life.

It is hoped these methods help with your anxiety. If not, please get counseling. A good counselor will not just offer mere advice, but give you tools that can help you live despite your anxiety.