When you feel depressed you suffer from a persistent and painful down mood. Agonizing depressive thinking normally amplifies and extends this condition. However, there is a nuisance that often goes unnoticed. This is procrastination on learning then testing evidence-supported natural and psychological interventions. By applying counter-procrastination techniques to depression, you may put yourself on a speedier path to recovery.
You can find parallels between depression and procrastination. In both procrastination and depression you may avoid taking corrective action. For example, if you believe you can't succeed, what is the basis for hope? Why would you try very hard?
When depressed, it is natural to create a self-fulfilling prophesy that supports procrastination impulses. An occupation with feeling bad, mulling over past mistakes, and pessimism about the future can amplify and extend the pain of depression. This thinking can distract from focusing on what you can do.
You can't change a negative event, such as a hurricane destroying your home. Helpless thinking about your future, however, is a hypothesis. What can you do with a hypothesis? You can examine it. For example, you believe that you can never regain confidence in yourself. Can you prove that view in Court? There, you would be subjected to a cross examination to raise reasonable doubts about that view. Can you find an exception to this illusion of helplessness?
Recognize that depressive thinking is unnecessary mental static, and it logically follows that you can change this process. However, if you put off learning and applying methods to defuse depressive thinking, such as helplessness and hopelessness, what is going on? It is important for you to know that even when you feel depressed, you can learn and take different actions to calm a depressed mood. Without this awareness and belief, you may spin in a realm of hopelessness thinking and repeat a depressive cycle. However, a bigger challenge may lie before you: applying evidence-supported methods to overcome depression and prevent this process from coming back.
Procrastination interferes with taking corrective actions. You can treat delays in taking corrective action on depression as a special form of complex procrastination. This is procrastination combined with another condition(s), such as depression. When you apply what you know about curbing procrastination to depression, you apply procrastination technology to address both states simultaneously.
By dealing with complex procrastination with depression, you simultaneously act to improve your effectiveness and your mood. By acting against the inertia of depression and procrastination you signal yourself that you can command yourself to think and act constructively. By teaching yourself to think outside the depressive box, you show yourself that you cannot be 100 % helpless. You prove to yourself you have self-efficacy potential. That powerful awareness contradicts globalized helpless thinking that can fuel depression and procrastination.
Beyond proactively confronting your depressive thinking, you have numerous evidenced-supported approaches to overcome depression. Omega 3 fatty acid and physical exercise have demonstrated effectiveness against depression. Activity scheduling, where you follow what you are inclined to do with a reward, appears effective. Read and apply principles from evidence-supported self-help manuals written by doctoral level mental health specialists. You can educate yourself about depression and what you can do to get relief and prevent a recurrence.
A classic way to quell depression is to engage in activity. However, taking corrective action for depression can prove challenging. Procrastination can interfere with execution. However, if you stretch a bit to follow through on activities to curb depression, with practice you are likely to develop a sense of effectiveness as you help yourself overcome depression. There are at least four phases to this corrective process.
1. Recognize that depression has correctable features. You can put yourself through the paces to address these features even when you feel sluggish and have trouble concentrating.
2. Accept that depression can feel debilitating. But you can adjust your sights and start by moving slowly against depression. Wasn't it the turtle that won the race against a speedy but overconfident rabbit?
3. Make yourself aware of tested tools to deal effectively with depression.
4. Experiment with what appears most effective for you to do.
The four steps are rarely linear. Procrastination can interfere. For example, tell yourself you are incapable of acting and you are likely to act according to this negative prescription. This self-fulfilling prophesy justifies giving up. Tell yourself you will later learn and use coping tools when you feel better and you are in a contingency manaña procrastination trap. If you are in a depressed mood, how are you to feel good first? So, refuse to detour into a mire of misery while awaiting relief.
The relief you seek likely comes from action which may be the last thing you want to do when you feel depressed. However, force yourself to daily follow a moderate physical exercise routine and this signals that you can take corrective steps. Physical exercise can amount to three brief 10 minute sessions of running in place a day, or something more ambitious. Consider a reasonable daily dose of Omega 3 (which also has a prophylactic effect for coronary heart disease). Find out what is a reasonable source and amount for you. Omega 3 correlates with an improved mood. Plug away at reading a self-help manual that delivers evidence-supported cognitive-behavioral methods. The above can seem like a struggle. Nevertheless, act as though you were capable of acting. You may find that you can create a positive self-fulfilling prophesy for yourself.
Overcoming depression, like curbing procrastination, is normally a process and rarely an event. If you fit your expectancies to a belief that you can change if you have the tools, and you can apply what you learn at a graduated pace, and fight procrastination along the way. This is how to load the dice in your favor. However, it is in the nature of depression that the remedy of activity can seem contradictory to a mood of lethergy. So it seems contradictory. Act anyway!
When Robert Burton published his 1500 page tome on The Anatomy of Depression in 1621, depressed readers reportedly went over the material more than once. The book contained important insights on the relationship between cognitive processes and depression. Today, a subgroup continues to profit from reading modern manuals to overcome depression. The myth that people with depression won't read and can't profit from what they read is a myth for most.
For more information about procrastination and depression, visit wikibooks: Overcoming Procrastination
About the Author: Dr. Bill Knaus, EdD
Dr. Bill Knaus, EdD is the author of more than 20 books; one, "Overcoming Procrastination, was co-authored with Albert Ellis. Knaus is a licensed clinical psychologist and former psychology professor. He authored books on diverse topics, such as illusions, anxiety, depression, blame, children’s mental health, and procrastination where he is an authority. He is known for his work in the cognitive revolution in psychotherapy and one of the original directors of post-doctorial training in rational emotive behavioral therapy. He conducted seminars for PESI, a national organization that sponsors continuing education for mental health and medical professionals. Aside from his private practice, Knaus was a consultant for numerous organizations, such as the US Army, Liberty Travel, and the Strathmore Paper Company and its divisions. His latest book is "End Procrastination Now" is his fifth and most up-to-date book on how to overcome procrastination (McGraw-Hill, 2010). His new book on "Fearless Job Hunting" shows job hunters how to use powerful psychological techniques to stand out from the crowd and get hired (New Harbinger, 2010). from: www.psychologytoday.com
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