Grief, Depression, and Anxiety

(Steps to Get Out of It and Avoid It)

“Man is that he might have joy.”

“Life is to be enjoyed, not endured.” Ensign Oct 2009

Five Stages of Grief: 1) denial, 2) anger, 3) bargaining, 4) depression, and 5) acceptance

Burns book; “Feeling Good” hot new field in psychology is ‘cognitive therapy’ which deals with helping people change the way they think will pull them out of depression or anxiety.

Part of Burns List of 10 Cognitive Distortions:
1) Black and White Thinking, no shades of gray, throwing in everything and the kitchen sink

2) Svengali-problems multiplying, it happened once, so it can happen again

3) Fortune Telling Error: predicting the future in a negative way

4) I should or I have to—we are not slaves, we choose to…

5) We think we are entitled to have perfect health, or perfect relationships, or the perfect job

Exercise is as effective for minor to moderate depression as medication.

Focus on Fun not your problems, then they come into perspective.

When you have a problem, only spend a limited amount of time strategizing how to address it, then take the rest of the time off so you don’t become exhausted.

Serve someone less fortunate than yourself, also brings your own problems down to size.

Pray for peace-very good advice I received from a friend of mine who had breast cancer, and it really worked for me.

Refilling yourself with things you enjoy regularly instead of just always giving makes you more able to give in the future. We can become depressed simply by doing too much work and no play.