I have a problem. I spend more time researching mental health topics than acting on them.
It's not entirely a bad thing because I know about therapies that help with depression and anxiety more than the regular person does.
I start this off by saying that I'm not a doctor, and if you're suffering from any mental health-related problem, speak to a licensed therapist or doctor.
With that out of the way, I wanted to discuss one specific type of therapy that's gaining prominence now. It's the ability for individuals with depression to recollect specific parts of memories.
The difference between a person with depression and a person without depression is that when asked about a memory, for example, a party — they give specifics of one experience. Whereas the person with depression talks in generalities, and usually with a negative lens.
This is also found by researchers in several studies. In another study, they activated the positive memories of depressed rats and found that their depressed symptoms alleviated.
What does this mean for us humans? Another tool in your arsenal against the demons of depression is recalling specific positive memories.
Think of a positive day in your life and try to recollect every specific detail from that day - who were you with, what did you do, how did you feel, what smells/taste did you observe. The more details the better.
Often this isn't easy, especially if you go back years.
But the magic is that once you actually end up doing this, it alleviates the symptoms of depression and you feel much better. For me this usually means, removing brain fog that muddies my thinking and leaves me with a much more positive outlook for the day.
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