4 Quick Questions to Overcome Depression
Reverse the damage to your body and face the truth
Your thoughts, invisible though they are, have a real and visible effect on your whole body. Negative thoughts can cause depression and anxiety that fuel damaging causes to your nervous system and other vital organs. Of course, not all depression is merely the result of negative thoughts. Sometimes, the biochemistry of a person needs to be examined as well.
Do the work
Byron Katie was depressed for around 10 years. She could not seem to pull herself out of it no matter what she tried. Then, aha! She started doing the work to ask herself 4 questions:
- Is it true?
- Can you absolutely know that it’s true?
- How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?
- Who or what would you be without the thought?
She created a free, practical worksheet for anyone who wants to practice and apply this practical and effective technique. Since that time, she has written a book, holds classes and seminars, and built an extensive website to help others overcome depression.
Kill the ANTS
Dr. Daniel Amen clarifies even more deeply how to think positively so that fear does not lead to anxiety and depression. Often anxiety and depression go together.
We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with fear and bad news that triggers our automatic negative thinking (ANTS).
In fact, our brains are wired to focus on the negative in order to avoid things that might hurt us. Fear definitely serves a purpose, but what happens when all we seem to focus on are negative thoughts? Bad things. Take a look at these compelling facts:
- Every thought you have releases chemicals in the brain.
- Hopeful thoughts release chemicals that help you feel happy and calm.
- Negative thoughts release chemicals that make you feel stressed and sad.
If what you bring your attention to determines how you feel and act, focusing too much on negative thoughts can lead to destructive behaviors — behaviors that can ruin your important relationships and ruin your mind.
Enough of the bad news. There is good news!
You can learn how to kill your automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) and focus on the positive.
1. Write it down. When those automatic negative thoughts start tumbling around in your mind, write them down to clearly identify them.
2. Investigate. Ask yourself, are these thoughts even true? Uninvestigated thoughts can lead us to act in harmful ways.
3. Talk back. If you discover that these negative thoughts are false, talk back to them! Tell these thoughts you know they aren’t true!
4. Practice these steps each time you feel automatic thoughts entering your brain. By labeling, investigating, and then talking back to your automatic negative thoughts, you’ll turn your mind into “an ANT ghost town.”
His books, seminars, YouTube presentations, and clinics help people to first examine their brains and implement practical strategies.
You do not have to be a victim of your thoughts. You do not have to believe every thought that comes into your head!
Practice the butterfly hug
Sometimes another recommended way to release the negative thoughts connected to emotions is by practicing the butterfly hug. Several techniques are described to clarify how confronting the thoughts with physical “fluttering” of the hands back and forth makes a difference.
- Place your left hand on your right shoulder.
- Place your right hand on your left shoulder.
- Tap once on one shoulder and then the other while thinking the negative thought.
- Continue 12 times or more to reduce or remove the faulty accusations in your head or negative memories to help heal the pathways in your brain, connecting the right and left lobes.
This procedure is related to tapping and to EMDR on a simplified basis, not necessarily for extreme trauma. Some people really find this helpful anytime guilty or negative thoughts occur as you fall asleep or even when one upsetting thought pops into your head at a stop sign!
Reduce and replace
Reduce depression that may be caused by thought distortions. Negative thoughts create deep trenches of depression. These unproductive patterns prevent your opportunity for a healthy lifestyle. Instead, do the work where you ask 4 questions; kill the ANTS by labeling, investigating, talking back, and practicing; and finally, rise above the negatives with the butterfly hug. You will be helping to reverse the damage to your body.