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Shane Pascoe

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Beschreibung

A practical, inspirational guide to managing your moods, improving your outlook, and beating stress and anxiety

Feeling overwhelmed, overstressed, or just plain down about life? This book is the cure for what ails you. Mood can affect every aspect of your life, from your performance at work to your personal relationships, and being able to take control of your moods, rather than have them control you, is something all the most successful people have in common. Combining techniques from two powerful, complementary therapeutic approaches–Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness–Feel Good is an everyday mood control book that can help you keep your spirits and your confidence high, and instill you with a more upbeat, positive, can-do attitude, come what may.

  • A source of inspiration for world-weary nine-to-fivers and an expert guide to beating stress and anxiety
  • Combines the latest research and proven techniques and practices from two powerful therapeutic approaches: CBT and Mindfulness
  • Packed with practical information on how to start feeling happier and more positive about life, and optimize how you deal with people and situations in life and at work
  • Designed for quick reference it lets you access practical information relevant to the mood you’re in at the moment

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Seitenzahl: 284

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

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Table of Contents

Endorsements

Title page

Copyright page

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

About the Authors

Chapter 1: “How Are You?”

Why do I experience moods?

A bit about us

Why do you need this book?

Fundamental principles

How you can use this book

Using the “post-it” note technique

Each chapter covers a different type of mood

Myths around mood are harmful

Starting to deal with mood issues begins with respect for yourself

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy may help

A different way of thinking

Moods impact on well-being and health

This book aims to empower you

Chapter 2: Challenge Your Thinking

Your beliefs will affect your mood

How to start the search for “why”

Optimism will bring hope for your future

Reasoning has benefits for clear thinking

Your conclusions should rely on evidence

Reasoning is also, unfortunately, prone to bias

There are a host of other biases to avoid

Science uses counterfactuals to explore “why”

“Should” is a word with problems

Evaluating your beliefs to help you to explore your “why” questions

Improving your reasoning

Chapter 3: Anger

Signs of anger may be complex and difficult to recognize

Anger becomes a problem when you do not manage it

The five predictors of anger

Men struggle dealing with their anger

Women have more coping mechanisms

Recognizing your anger

Starting to deal with your anger

But I don't get angry!

Dealing with anger by looking for patterns and applying logic

Using considered argument may work

Successful mood management

Be assertive and get your needs met

Offering an explanation to someone does improve the outcome

Dealing with another person's anger

Chapter 4: Self-Efficacy

Psychological changes can be explained through changes in self-efficacy

Overall health and self-efficacy are linked

Success in education and your professional life relies on self-efficacy

You can make progress by using learning activities

Seeing and hearing someone else succeed increases your self-efficacy

Physiological states can improve a belief in yourself

Relaxation as self-efficacy

Improving your self-efficacy

Chapter 5: Distress

You feel a response to stress in your body

These sensations are important for survival

Your thoughts are critical to kick starting anxiety

Anxiety and your interpretation of risk

Your mind influences your distress

Coping techniques can alleviate distress

Other techniques will also alleviate distress

Chapter 6: Unhappiness

But why do I feel this way?

Descriptive words are important

Behavioural symptoms may define your unhappiness

Unhappiness causes physiological symptoms

Mood-related symptoms are common in unhappiness

Unhappiness affects your thoughts or cognitive symptoms

The power of thoughts which fit into your beliefs

Negative beliefs often lead to the practice of failure

Three common negative beliefs in people with low mood

What keeps unhelpful beliefs going?

Aim to change your negative thoughts to more realistic thoughts

Chapter 7: Well-Being and Happiness

“P” is for positive emotions which we all wish to experience

“E” is for Engagement in something that gives enjoyment

“R” is for Relationships which are critical to our state of well-being

“M” is for Meaning which gives a larger purpose to life

“A” is for Accomplishment whether it is big or small

Well-being is more than just happiness

Optimism influences a person's well-being

Evaluate your life using the PERMA model at regular intervals

Chapter 8: Self-Esteem

Self-awareness is a useful skill

Self-esteem can be improved both from external and internal influences

Developing self-acceptance, both good and bad, will improve self-esteem

The outcomes are up to you

Self-assertiveness is implicit to your human rights

Having purpose in your efforts improves self-esteem

Personal integrity is consistency with your values

Realistic thinking helps your self-esteem

Healthy boundaries protect self-esteem

Measuring improvements will allow you to keep track of progress

Chapter 9: Leading a Balanced Lifestyle

The phrase “work-life balance” hides a range of issues

Controlling things you can change

Develop your motivation for change

Build an accurate view of you

Pleasant event scheduling is designed to improve mood

The importance of sleep is underestimated

Strategies for developing better sleep to help well-being

Regular schedules have a role to play in improving mood

Yoga is a metaphor for balance

How do I stay here?

Chapter 10: Relaxation Techniques

Relaxation is freedom

There are rules for relaxation

Mindfulness is not about emptying your mind

Seeing things as they are helps you to establish insight

With regular practice these techniques will bring rewards

Chapter 11: Where to from Here?

It is important to assess the progress that you have made

You will need to “let go” of old habits

Monitoring progress will help you to prevent relapse

Once progress has been made it needs to be maintained

Recognizing need is what keeps me going

Afterword

Bibliography and Further Reading

Index

“This fascinating book is a fresh and optimistic guide, offering a balanced insight into taking control of our mood and managing our emotions so we can become healthier and happier, and have a more positive effect on those around us. Seamlessly merging science, philosophy, psychology and spirituality into an accessible and empowering book! A must-read for professionals or students alike.”

Hayley Del Sanderson, Principal and Founder, The Yoga Academy

“This is a very welcome book and will appeal to a wide readership and at many levels. It addresses the emotions and feelings that we all experience in life to a greater or lesser degree; and combines sound evidence and therapeutic advice about how to cope and move forward. The approach taken by Graham and Shane is extremely helpful, practical and easy to read; the authors lead readers carefully and explicitly through each chapter. It is highly recommended as a reassuring self-help book and an adjunct book for therapists to use with clients.”

Dr Jane Cronin-Davis, Chair of College of Occupational Therapist Specialist Section for Mental Health, guideline development group member for UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE)

“Explains the concepts and techniques needed by anyone to improve their mood and makes them accessible for everyone to use in everyday situations.”

Professor Ian Olver AM, Chief Executive Officer, Cancer Council Australia

“Feel Good is a very practical guide to dealing with your mood in daily life. It is easy to read while being based on some of the best current evidence in psychological research.”

Professor Mark Harris, UNSW Scientia Professor and Executive Director Centre, Primary Health Care and Equity; and Director, COMPaRE-PHC (Centre for Obesity Management and Prevention Research Excellence in Primary Health Care)

This edition first published 2014

© 2014 Shane Pascoe and Graham Law

Registered office

John Wiley and Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom

For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com.

The right of the authors to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

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Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademark or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with the respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services and neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pascoe, Shane W.

Feel good : how to change your mood and cope with whatever comes your way / Shane Pascoe and Graham Law.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-857-08452-1 (pbk.)

1. Mood (Psychology) 2. Emotions. 3. Affect (Psychology) I. Law, Graham R. II. Title.

BF521.P37 2014

152.4—dc23

2013034151

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-0-857-08452-1 (paperback) ISBN 978-0-857-08449-1 (ebk)

ISBN 978-0-857-08451-4 (ebk)

Cover design: Simon Dovar

To our children, Bethan, Gabi, Kai, and Sophie. Listed in alphabeticalorder, not a reflection of which ones are our favourites.

Foreword

Many of us suffer short lived fluctuations in mood. These may become entrenched and start to affect the way we live, our personal relationships and our work. Sometimes they may become more severe and need medical or psychological care. Depression and anxiety are common and increasing problems worldwide affecting hundreds of millions of people. So taking action early to break the cycle of negative mood is important. However many mood problems go unrecognized.

Feel Good by Shane Pascoe and Graham Law is a very practical guide to dealing with one's own mood in daily life. The chapters are organized around moods and emotions explaining these and then providing examples of how they be managed. The book describes a number of coping mechanisms and strategies for improving the quality of one's mood. It draws on psychological evidenced-based psychological interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness.

However the book is not a medical or psychological text and is, of course, not intended to replace professional help. It uses lay language and is easy to read and apply to daily life. As such it fills an important gap and will help boost your “mental health literacy” – the essential knowledge and skill that we all need to stay healthy and function better in our lives.

Mark Harris

Scientia Professor and Director of the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, University of South Wales

Preface

In the Arizona desert there is a physical representation of what we have tried to do with this book. Frank Lloyd Wright built a home, a workplace, a school and so much more in Taliesin West. His motivation was to deal with the ideas the landscape inspired in him, and what he achieved was the bringing together of all the best elements from all of his achievements. All the best elements of helping people over the years have been brought together here. The people Shane has seen have often had significant trauma and prolonged distress. The lessons learnt in helping these people are the same we have distilled here, to help people who may have experienced something similar if not necessarily as intense. Graham has considerable experience in the science of health and disease research. On a personal level he has tried to improve physically, mentally and emotionally. This journey, with the invaluable support of his wife and children, led through mindfulness and yoga to a calm and fulfilling life.

Writing together has enabled us to bridge the disciplines we have found fascinating over the years: education, psychology, philosophy and medicine. It is through these experiences we have been privileged to sit with the patients and students who have inspired us, lucky enough to see the brilliance of other professionals we have worked with and generally kept going to address the needs of those that come through the door every day.

Acknowledgements

Asiyah for knowing when to smile and urge Shane on and when to smile and point out the magic beans that lie in his hand. Nicki for her unstinting inspiration and ability to finish things. Shiraz Rehman for his amazing assistance in negotiating contracts and asking all the right questions, all the time. Morris Averill for looking at every angle and beyond to get the best out of this project for everyone. Ben Treverton for his great photography.

To the team at Capstone; Iain Campbell, Holly Bennion, Jonathan Shipley, Jenny Ng, Vicky Kinsman, Megan Saker, Emily Bryczkowski, Samantha Hartley and Louise Campbell.

To the friends who looked over the draft; Jeremy Miles, Natasha Grabham, Geraldine Carroll, Christina Bossinakis, Dom Hilbrink, Ben Treverton, Tim Manning, Bibiana Chan, Fiona Skewes, Nick Campbell, Rachel Madden, Mark Harris, Ian Olver and Angelo Kapsalis.

Illustration credits:

Hot Air Balloons, Detailed Vector Collection – PILart/Shutterstock.com.

Sheet of paper for notes and paperclip – Sergign/Shutterstock.com.

About the Authors

Dr Shane Pascoe

Shane Pascoe is a husband, father, and a danger to himself and others with a tool in his hand. Since graduating from the University of Newcastle, Shane has worked in the field of Psychology in a variety of different roles in several countries. He has practised meditation since being introduced to it by a group of cancer patients.

Dr Graham Law

Graham Law is a senior lecturer at the Leeds School of Medicine in England. He is a scientist in health research and leads a team looking at the impact of sleep on our metabolism and general health. He has published over 75 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and this is his second book published with Shane. Graham is a keen practitioner of yoga and mindfulness. His wife and two children are the core of his life and provide continuous meaning and support.

Chapter 1

“How Are You?”

When someone asks “How are you?” it can set off a cascade of thoughts in your mind. Despite the fact that this has become a greeting, it is a serious question and it makes you wonder “What mood am I in?” Have you ever examined your mood and what impact it has on your life? This book will help you to explore a range of mood issues that confront people every day, addressing the characteristic feelings and emotions, the triggers and outcomes. Of course, you are also reading this to discover what you can do about these issues. This book will show you strategies that can be used to overcome mood problems and lead a happier and more content life.

The chapters in this book are organized around the moods and emotions that people feel, both positive and negative, all of the time. Your mood is your conscious state of mind or your predominant emotion. Mood is an umbrella term for all the emotions and affective states that you experience. An emotion is a more specific term than mood. An emotion is your perception of a feeling, more related to individual experiences. The affective state is a technical term, from psychology, and relates to what is seen on the outside as a sum of all those moods and feelings you subjectively experience. Moods have what is known as a “valence”, which describes overall whether the mood you are experiencing is either positive or negative. The valence of a mood has become part of our everyday language; it is commonplace for someone to describe themselves as being in a good mood, or a bad mood, or their mood is low.

This book deals with issues around moods such as hope, anger, distress, unhappiness, well-being and self-esteem. All of us must deal with these moods during our lives. An important starting point is for you to identify which of these mood issues you are experiencing and the extent to which they are operating. Chapter 2 will help you to think about the ways moods develop and how these may influence your life. Chapters 3 to 8 cover some of the different moods you may experience, both positive and negative, in more detail and within each of these chapters there are coping mechanisms and strategies for improving the quality of your mood. The final three chapters cover more general techniques to improve your mood and your ability to cope whatever comes your way.

Why do I experience moods?

It does seem odd to me, when we are a technologically advanced society, and humans have become powerful over nature, able to cure disease, start wars, fly to the moon, and yet, you and I still experience the feelings of emotion which contribute to something so primeval as a mood. Scientists have identified that emotions developed in animals to help us survive in our environment. Emotions are experienced by lots of different animals – as you could imagine when you see a cat running away from a perceived threat, the cat is more than likely scared. When a dog is barking we assume it is angry. An emotional response has been an essential part of the survival of our species, and we accept and embrace many emotions such as happiness and affection.

However, a problem is encountered when your mood, or its valence, has a detrimental effect on your life. Some philosophers, such as Plato, believed that emotions were undesirable and sometimes evil. This view does not exist now, and we understand that emotions are essential and often a very positive source of motivation. You will be taken through a range of the moods describing positive and negative aspects and sometimes the underlying physiology that will help to explain your feelings and responses to situations. To be clear, your physiology is the state of your body, the processes which happen that are beyond your active conscious control.

Some clarification about the use of the words positive and negative when talking about emotions. We use the terms positive and negative as they are widely understood and help us group the kinds of emotions that people generally want to experience more of (positive emotions such as joy) and those they want to manage better or reduce (negative emotions such as anger and frustration). Negative emotions such as anger can have a useful outcome in that when angry we are more likely to stand up for our rights – providing a drive to be assertive as opposed to passive in a situation where our rights are violated.

A bit about us

My name is Shane, and I live and work in Newcastle in Australia. I have extensive experience working as a psychologist, in the community and in hospital settings, and as a scientist. I will be drawing on these experiences throughout this book. In my work I have met many people dealing with all sorts of issues, from the very severe and serious mental health problems through to more minor mood issues that cause them problems. In my scientific work as a health researcher and whilst gaining my PhD, I have collaborated with Dr Graham Law, who is a medical scientist and statistician.

Graham lives in York in England and is Head of Biostatistics for an Institute within the School of Medicine at Leeds University. He has published over 75 scientific research papers, and two books, and leads fellow scientists within an academic environment. His knowledge and experience will help in interpreting the scientific findings so that you can be reassured that there is good evidence for you to base your decisions on.

I will take the things that work best when people struggle with their mood, to give you hope and optimism in dealing with your own issues. I aim to prevent the downward spiral that is characteristic of mood disorders. By using these stories I hope that the knowledge that patients, psychologists and scientists have acquired through their journey can be helpful to you.

When I see people as a psychologist my opening question is usually “How are you?” This is a simple start, and yet this straightforward question can bring forward a wave of thoughts, memories and feelings into the open and make them accessible to analysis. The main issues we talk about, often for hours, are their thoughts. Each person brings with them an amazing story. If I were speaking with you, my hope would be to understand how you got to where you are, how you arrived there in the first place and why you keep returning to the same place. My objective is for you to feel better. During our sessions together, people usually thank me for understanding where they are coming from and pointing them in the right direction to show them a way to feeling better. I hold their hand. That is all, a guiding hand.

Why do you need this book?

All of us have moods that go up and down: that is completely normal. It is also reasonable to assume that any mood you are experiencing will not last forever. This includes both good and bad moods, and often time is one of the most important parts of dealing with a distressing mood.

This book, and the techniques we will show you, will help you to work out why you feel the way you do. It will help you to discover the reasons behind some of your thoughts and the reason you are experiencing a feeling. It will also describe, and walk you through, some effective techniques to help you deal with these mood issues. If, however, your mood is impacting in a serious way on your life, you should seek professional advice. This book is not a replacement for medical and psychological care when that is necessary.

Fundamental principles

I will be using some of the key principles that I use in my work; they will help you to explore your feelings, look at the consequences of your mood, and hopefully develop some strategies to feel good. The fundamental principles that I start with are listed in the box below. Knowledge, or content, is what you say or the actual verbatim words you use. It is overt and extrinsic. But of course, this is often less interesting than what is going on underneath, the subtext or other meaning you can establish from delivering the words.

Principles of therapy
The attitudes and concepts are more important than the knowledge.An empathic response is the only way forward – for others and indeed yourself.All behaviour has a function.Collaboration is the way.Remember content and process.

As an example you may say “I really like going to work”. The words are the “content” of the message. “Process” is everything else: tone, syntax and semantics, and conveys a meaning intrinsically. The statement above could be phrased as a question if there is a rising tone at the end of the sentence, or as a statement of fact. The process or way you speak the statement guides the listener to the next step, and if phrased as a question leads you to attempt to answer the question. If you fail to show enthusiasm when conveying your exclamation about going to work, or you often come in late or call in sick for work, then the process says a lot more than the content. So is the statement “I really like going to work” correct? You can use the understanding of process to develop insight into the situation, and to respond accordingly.

The hardest parts to therapy are being attentive to the feelings of the client: listening. In this book you will learn the skills of listening to yourself, gaining insight in a way that involves warmth and genuineness. There are reasons you do what you do or as many therapists say “Behaviour is functional”. When I sit with a person in therapy they often present a list of symptoms, sometimes in a letter from their doctor. These allow me to give you a direction and we talk about what these symptoms mean to you. This collaboration is the way therapy works, and this book will allow a similar collaborative effort to develop.

How you can use this book

The content of the book is important but it is not the main aspect of what we hope you will achieve by reading it. To get the most out of this experience, we suggest reading a chapter per week to allow enough time to play with some of the concepts you have read. Allow yourself the time to think about the relevance each chapter has to you, explore the concepts and engage in the techniques introduced throughout.

With help from Graham, I will detail the latest research and you will use evidence-based strategies to make the changes required using a simple “post-it” note technique. You will also find helpful boxes throughout, marked with a hot-air balloon icon, which offer insightful scientific material which supports the techniques and learning you will develop along the way.

Some might say that this represents being filled with hot air, but I like to think it is a symbol that is going places, exactly as I hope you will be during this book. A lesson in metaphor I guess.

Using the “post-it” note technique

My first supervisor had a powerful intellect. He always made progress with the most difficult problems, and with the hardest cases, by moving with his clients to a point of hope. Where there was light at the end of the tunnel. He did this by condensing all his knowledge on a discipline and a subject to a simple “post-it” note. We will use “post-it” notes in this book to remind you of what techniques to practise.

The “post-it” note strips away any pretence at being too intellectual or clever in addressing very complex problems you face. People have a short attention span and often this is out of necessity. Your world may be traumatic and requires you to look everywhere for threats, seemingly at the same time. By being concise, the unnecessary aspects to theory and any hyperbole are removed, leaving the honest and open discussion about your problem at hand. Once you master the skill, you can move on. Now let's get started with our first “post-it” note technique on the next page.

“Post-it” note technique
On a “post-it” note, write down a few words or sentences on why you bought this book, or why you picked it off the shelf. Or perhaps someone else bought this book for you; what do you think they wanted you to explore? You could write down your most important goals. What do you hope to achieve by reading this book?
Take some time over this, give it some thought. You may wish to improve your overall mood, or there may be parts of your life that you wish to be improved. For example, I would write down that I want to strike a better balance between my work and family life. But what you write will be personal to you. This exercise may feel uncomfortable, but please persevere.
Now put the note somewhere safe. You might leave it in this book, or stick it up in a room in your house. As the weeks go by and you become more self-aware, you may want to add to this note, or change it.

Each chapter covers a different type of mood

At this point, a descriptive list of feelings and emotions would seem a simple way for you to map your mood to the chapters. Unfortunately this is oversimplifying a complex series of issues and you won't benefit from this book using that approach. I must ask you to indulge me by spending time reading each chapter to gain maximum benefit.

Chapter 2 focuses on your hopes for your future, by looking at how questioning your beliefs and thoughts can help you achieve your goal to feel good. It will help you to assess how sound your thoughts are which is the basis of the theories we use.

Anger is a normal emotion for humans, as it is an essential skill used for survival. Anger becomes a problem when it is not managed properly and Chapter 3 deals with this issue.

Chapter 4 discusses some of the strengths you have, and your belief in your capabilities, which is referred to as self-efficacy. Strengthening your self-efficacy will lead to improvements in your achievements, and allow you to improve your mood.

Chapter 5 explores distress and ways to deal with it. The word distress is sometimes used interchangeably with the word stress. However as you will discover this is not strictly correct. A life with no stress is impossible but you will learn how to avoid it impacting negatively on you and therefore causing distress.

The identification and strategies for dealing with low mood, or depression as it is sometimes called, are in Chapter 6 “Unhappiness”. Depression is the sadness a person experiences when they think about earlier life experiences or their future. It is a lethargy that permeates the soul of the person and marks their thinking. This chapter will outline how depression influences a person's thinking in the most negative of ways.

Your feeling of well-being, explored in Chapter 7, tries to bring out in you positive ways to improve your feelings about your achievements and where you are. Chapter 8 will help you to examine your self-esteem, and to develop ways to improve this mood. These two features of your mood have been repeatedly connected with good health and quality of life.

Chapters 9 and 10 are designed to consolidate the techniques you have been developing and to introduce some methods to improve your mood and well-being. These involve techniques such as mindfulness, sleep hygiene and relaxation methods. And rounding this all off in Chapter 11 I will ask you to see how far you have come. You will realize the distance travelled over the course of working through the book.

Myths around mood are harmful

Why am I introducing myths at this point? Some myths are traditions, accepted ways of doing things that are often unquestioned. Many of these myths, at their core, are mistaken beliefs that are shown to be false through evidence.

A common myth around mood issues is believing a person should “get on with it”, show a “stiff upper lip”, or “pull their socks up”. Through self-improvement, accessing treatment where required, gaining support from friends and family and just living their life, many people are showing a level of achievement which is commendable and should not be minimized. Some people think that having mood problems is equivalent to having a weak mind. I wonder if those same people would have the courage to continue holding onto that myth of a weak mind after a discussion with Churchill who suffered from his own problems with low mood.

More extreme myths lead to people with more serious issues being painted as violent, or incompetent. These simplistic notions end up making people feel objectified, not a person anymore but a scary monster to be feared or ridiculed. It affects a person's view of themselves, and when a person accepts these prejudiced views, people who need real help are reluctant to seek treatment, or withdraw from life. The person's self-worth suffers. Attitudes such as these usually involve inaccurate information, with the outcomes being hurtful depictions in the media or as the subject of jokes.

Starting to deal with mood issues begins with respect for yourself

How you acquire self-respect can be as simple as using respectful language both when talking about others but especially about yourself. Things such as “a person who has diabetes” is more respectful than labelling a person “diabetic”. Of course this is not about the issues around controlling your glucose, but it is important that society, and you, recognize that labels can lead to problems. By emphasizing abilities, you highlight strength, identify opportunities and are not constrained by the language of limitation.

When you do not respect yourself, this can lead to many difficulties, which some people describe as the “sick role”. Talcott Parsons described this first, in 1951, where being “sick” was perceived as having benefits for the person, giving an individual a reason for not completing their various responsibilities. It is easy to take on this attitude when there is no visible injury, but the person reports a low mood. If you think in terms of people looking to benefit from some low mood, or the sick role, then it is a slippery slope ending in labels such as “waster” or “slack” to describe people that do not seem to be able to operate at their full capability.

A common belief is that “if I can't see it then it doesn't exist”. Although your mind does not have a cast on it like a broken leg would, when a person suffers a mood issue, they need the same kind of support a pair of crutches can bring. For the mind to really heal, it requires weeks if not months of care and attention to learn and implement the strategies required to manage your mood.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy may help

You might have heard the phrase “you think the way you feel”. Your thoughts and beliefs determine your emotions and, in many cases, your behaviours. In Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) this can be explained with the ABC model. An activating event (A) initiates a belief (B) and a belief causes an emotion or other consequence (C). Therefore, your thoughts and beliefs determine your emotions and, in many cases, your behaviours. This is a difficult concept to understand, let alone apply. It is a process that takes time whilst simultaneously dealing with distress. It has been compared to juggling a whole lot of burning torches and I say “in order for you to extinguish the torches and stop juggling, you first must read a book on how to juggle and extinguish torches, all the while you are still juggling.”

CBT looks at the strategies and mechanisms of change. One way it does this is by looking at the causes of behaviours and describing the change processes themselves. This could help you to handle the process of change and to engage in effective behaviour to feel good. CBT also hopes to improve motivation to reach goals. While doing this, it aims to decrease the thoughts and emotions that interfere with helpful behaviours. Through this process you increase your distress tolerance and hopefully you move more of your helpful behaviours from just intentions, to the broader world and your life.

CBT uses interventions such as getting you to measure your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. It uses problem solving and exposure strategies to change the process and reactions you have. One of the major aspects to CBT is cognitive modification or changing your thoughts.

A different w