If you are finding that you get depression around criticism then you may be suffering from a Sociotropy type of depression. One way I look at this is to see it as your own concept is overly dependent on the opinions of others. You may want to consider seeing a psychotherapist for this as you can learn to get the tools to cope with the thoughts that it will automatically come up in this situation, especially the self critical ones. A therapist that specializes in using CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) or ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) may produce the best...
Learn MoreAnother thing on tips on managing worry. When a worry pops up in your mind you could ask yourself is this a helpful worry to pay attention to at this moment in time. In you think it is then look at what options do you have. For example if you have a worry about losing your job after you heard a rumor about your company down sizing you could brain storm what you could do…e.g. get your resume changed, discuss your concerns with your friends and or family, go on line to see what other jobs are out there, decide to do nothing at this point. These are just some of the options you have. If you think it is not a helpful worry you could do worry time as described in the blog last time or perhaps you could label the worry by calling it worry every time it comes...
Learn MoreI am going to add another tip on managing worry. This can come under the heading of worry time. Here is how it may work. Say you start to worry about a relationship you are in and that the worries are taking up too much of your time and energy and seem uncontrollable. You can tell yourself that a couple of times a day you are going to set aside for worry time. It may be 10-15 minutes or less or more. During the worry time you will worry about the issue or issues then stop. And every time you notice that you start to worry you remind yourself of the next worry time you will be setting aside and that you will save that worry for...
Learn MoreThis blog will begin to feature tips on managing worry. Worry is a mental activity that we all probably do. One tip and way of looking at memory is that it masks scary stories that the mind is emitting. More specifically I believe that it is masking the emotions that come up. Let’s say your boss tells you that he or she is concerned about your work performance. You may immediately start to worry that you may lose your job. Then your thinking may go to your becoming homeless and that your support system may not be helpful to you. Holding the scary picture in front of you and the feelings of helplessness and fear and feeling them (letting them in or in ACT it is called Acceptance) will have a more helpful way for your mind then pushing these feelings away. It will not change the difficult situation you may be in but help to cope better with your thoughts and emotions that will show...
Learn MoreI am going to discuss some tips on managing anxiety. If your anxiety level is highland it is interfering with your life then it may be important for you to contact a mental health professional. I think it may be a good idea to get some names of therapist’s who use models of treatment that have been researched and shown to be effective for many people. If I wanted to see a therapist for this I would want to make sure they have good training in CBT (Cognitive Behavioral therapy) or ACT (Acceptance and Commitment therapy). There are professional organizations that have a referral list and that includes the ABCS as well as the ABCT. When you are considering treatment for anxiety it is important to learn to develop a mind set such that your goal of treatment is not to get rid of anxiety but to manage it in a more helpful way. As humans we tend to struggle with anything that may make us pretty uncomfortable and that struggle helps us to keep our mind more on the thing we are trying to get rid of and this may get us down and can make us feel even more...
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