About 30% of people will experience depression at some point in their lives, and most of us know what a depressed mood feels like. Because depressive episodes are common, there’s no lack of good advice out there. But depression is so challenging in part because it attacks our ability to do anything about it. Depression saps our energy, is demotivating, and makes it difficult to actually put that good advice into practice. In this episode, Dr. Rick and Forrest explore what we can do about this, and how we can break out of an episode of depressed mood. 

They start by talking about what causes depression, introduce the biopsychosocial model, and identify an overall framework for most depressive episodes. Rick and Forrest then explain the vicious cycle of depressed mood before focusing on what a person can do practically to break the cycle. Topics include identifying mindsets, changing how we interpret information, fully experiencing our emotions, rumination and ruminatory processes, taking in the good, and creating openness to possibility. 

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:15: Distinguishing a depressed mood from MDD

7:25: Causes of depression

12:00: Absolutist beliefs and self-compassion

17:45: The paradox of motivation, and small ways to break the cycle

24:20: Fully experiencing your feelings, and emotional release

30:05: Discerning between thoughts and experiences

38:30: Rumination, finding evidence of positive change, and interoception

42:50: Recognizing what you don’t know, being receptive to love, and simply being

52:00: Recap

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