Monday, July 14, 2008

Emotional Health Week (or longer)

Ok so I think it's common knowledge that I struggle with depression. I have my ups and downs, and currently I'm fighting against a down cycle. Blogging has become less interesting to me, and I don't wanna just whine on here, so I am posting less.

I could blog daily about my negative thoughts and feelings, but dwelling on them doesn't make them change and it seems that expressing how I feel just makes people feel bad and not know what to say. So I decided to talk instead about solutions for depressive thinking.

First order of business: The Burns Depression Checklist.

Sometimes I think I'm doing okay, hanging in there, and then I take this little test and realize just how poorly I'm doing emotionally. That motivates me to dust off my Feeling Good book and work on improving the way I'm thinking.

Why don't you play along? Answer each question as best you can and add up the numerical score at the end.

Post your results in the comments for this post.

Oh, you want to know what my score is? Ahem. I'll post it tomorrow.

9 comments:

  1. I got a 16. However, 12 of those points are directly related to being pregnant. (Hormones and being so nauseated that I hang out in bed a good chunk of most days will affect ye olde feelings of attractiveness, motivation, mood, interest in life and libido.) That said, I think at this point last pregnancy, I was probably sitting at a 26-30, so this is nearly peachy.

    I'm thrilled to be able to score questions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 15 at 0 points. That's huge for me.

    Happy testing, all. ;)

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  2. Thanks for putting yourself out there, hiccups. And I agree that your altered-hormonal state is throwing your score off. I think identifying it helps put the score in perspective, and like you pointed out, you are doing so much better than last time. Way to go!

    Okay, everybody. Be brave. Take the test!

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  3. Took the test but I am afraid that if I post my score you will haul me off to the state mental hospital. Let me share this though, #14, I don't worry about my health at all. I may be depressed and completely mental but I'm no hypochondriac! I fear you are all learing way toooooooo much about me.

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  4. Hmmmmm..... So after taking the test, I am more worried about my depression than ever. I could chalk some of it up to sleep deprevation with a four month old but I know that depression is a serious thing in my family so I work hard to not slip down the slope. :) Any tips?

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  5. My plan is to post about some causes of depression and actual proven techniques for reducing it via cognitive therapy (changing the way you think). So stay tuned!

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  6. Ok I'll be brave. I scored a 37. But I'm an over achiever. And maybe have one kid near death and another near spiritual death has something to do with it.

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  7. Have you ever heard of the idea that sometimes when you're supposed to do something, the message keeps appearing until you finally get the message?

    Lisa, this is the second time in the last little while I've run across a reference to the "Feeling Good" book (You and the Ensign, baby). I got a pretty emphatic feeling...oh, about a year and a half ago (I'm blushing at my procrastination) to buy that book, and it's been sittin' all dusty on my nighttable ever since.

    I've been slowly but surely improving after Babe5 - I actually feel quite good right now - but it looks like I still need to address some of my bad habits.

    Darn it! Mediocrity is sooo comfortable....

    (And this is my first ever comment-on-a-blog. Doncha feel special?;)

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  8. Yay! Di is here! This makes me unreasonably happy. Thank you for posting. It means a lot to me. :D

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