More articles
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"Depression
causes us to
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our
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world around
us to such
an
extent
that reality
becomes
distorted."
A Rest Stop From Depression and Thoughts of Suicide
Disclaimer:
Each year over 17 million people in the United States suffer from depression. Of those fewer than 30% get help! Each year over 30,000 people in the United States commit suicide. Of those, the majority had not seen a doctor. This article is designed to let the millions of people who have not reached out, know that THEY ARE NOT ALONE! There are people who care!
There is help available, but beware of self diagnosis! This exercise should not be used instead of therapy for depression. Misuse of Emotional Thought Stopping for depression may be harmful, but so is untreated depression. Get informed, get into the system of help for depression, see a doctor, therapist, or a priest!
The following is a mood enhancing exercise which is based on theories I present in "The relationship of the conscious and the subconscious mind". It is not to be considered a therapy for depression, as a therapy is more complete and would include an accurate definition of the type of depression, an action to implement based on that diagnosis, and finally addressing what changes you need to make in order to maintain a more depression free life after therapy.
Emotional thought stopping is probably most effective for those individuals who are severely depressed and experiencing strong suicidal urges. Effectiveness of the procedure will depend on ones total commitment to the process and that they not change anything outlined herein. Why? The person with unipolar depression will have the tendency to "yes-but" the procedure and discount many of the concepts to the point that it becomes ineffective. Also, the person with bipolar disorder ( manic depression ) will feel a need to enhance or add to the procedures (possibly overdo something) to a point that their changes may cause the exercise to become harmful. Please, let's all of us stick to the agenda as outlined and heed all of the warnings!
You can not fail at this procedure. If you faithfully adhere to all of the concepts outlined and your mood is not substantially lifted, you have not failed and there is no reason to despair. The experience would merely be another in a series of steps one might try in order to find what will be effective in reversing, or living more comfortably with their depression. This may help a person to decide that therapy is needed and one may further decide, with the help of their therapist, that drugs, and/or intensive therapy will be beneficial.
Emotional thought stopping is simple, (some may even use the term simplistic) and anyone can easily do it. The concept is not new, as it has its roots in the genius of the early Greeks. You may have been exposed to the procedure if you are familiar with the bible, and some modern therapists use its concepts. There are some basic changes I have made to both the reasoning behind this procedure, and changes I have implemented concerning the actual technique.
Ending Depression - What are our Goals?
1. We will not attempt to solve life's problems or the problems caused by our depression or mania at this time, but for a short period of time we will protect ourselves from the negative emotions caused by those problems.
2. We will regain control of our emotions.
3. We will protect ourselves from thoughts of hopelessness concerning our future.
4. We will substantially lessen our suicidal urges.
How Does Emotional Thought Stopping Work Against Depression?
What we are concerned with are those thoughts which are automatically sent by the unconscious into the conscious mind, due to the intensity of unresolved emotion associated with ongoing problems in our life. When using emotional thought stopping, that automatic thought from the unconscious is cut off the very second it is presented, period!
Thoughts of suicide, anger, dispair, self degradation, past emotional trauma, and future hopelessness are stopped the instant they are presented to the conscious mind. Why? Because allowing that thought to remain in the conscious mind, when a person is depressed, will reinforce and intensify the negative emotion, no matter what the conscious intellect tries to do!
We have been trying to rid ourselves of these negative emotions for some time now, and have failed, each failure reinforces the negative emotion and insures that our subconscious will continue to present these negative emotions to our conscious mind.
Again, during this exercise we do not try to solve any of life's problems or the problems caused by our depression, in fact, we do not even allow thoughts concerning our problems to remain in the conscious, even for a second. The very first thought which is thrown from the conscious the second it is presented is any thought that has to do with suicide.
How do we do this? I send negative thoughts back to the subconscious the second they are presented with a resounding sub-vocal "stop". Actually, over time the word "stop" has been replaced with a sort of primal grunt. I clear my mind, if the thought returns I send it back with more intensity. The word "stop" may have to be so intense that it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand out and your spine tingle with intensity. Throw the thought of suicide back into the subconscious with a vengeance, match or exceed the intensity of the emotion with the word,
"STOP!" SCREAM IT IF YOU HAVE TO!
"STOP!" "I don't deserve this!"
"STOP!" "I--want control!"
"STOP!" "STOP!" "STOP!"
Use the energy of your anger! Use the power of your despair against the very depression that spawned it!
"STOP!" "I-WANT-TO-LIVE!"
Next, or at the same time, begin to stop all thoughts that have anything to do with life's problems or the problems caused by your depression.
"I deserve to die!" "STOP!"
"I'll never get a job!" "STOP!"
"If only I--" "STOP!"
"That bastard always--" "STOP!"
"My depression is caused by--" "STOP!"
"They make me--" "STOP!"
"The pain will never end!" "STOP!"
"But--" "STOP!"
This must be done for at least a full day! From the very moment you awake until you fall off to sleep, you should not have reinforced one single negative thought, not one!
A very important time is just before you fall to sleep that first night. A significant part of this exercise is during our REM sleep after this first day. We have not reinforced one negative emotion, possibly for the first 24 hour period in years. Our "dream work" after this first day has much to do with the success of this mood enhancing exercise.
Problem solving is considered a positive undertaking, yet problem solving when we are depressed, is what gets many of us in trouble.
At times,I have thought of possible solutions to my problems, and mentally acted out how those solutions would help my life. Then I would begin thinking of reasons why it probably would not work, and eventually I would end in a worse depressed state than before the session began. All this, within the confines of my own bedroom. Even if it seems as though we have a good idea and problem solving seems to be a positive undertaking, at this time we must refrain, especially if we are in a manic phase. For two days we are working on emotions, not life problems.
Similar procedures have been tried before with varying degrees of effectiveness. The short comings of prior attempts have to do with the lack of intensity and their intermittent nature. If we find a beneficial procedure in a self-help book or during a therapy session, we possibly feel better for a short period of time, but the nature of our depression soon overwhelms this feeling and we are back where we started. One hour of help once or twice a week, even with possible home work assignments, allows ample time for our negative ruminations and suicidal urges to return and plague us once again.
Emotional Thought Stopping (Page 2)
© Stephen L. Bernhardt - 1996-2007
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