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Self-Help

A New Model of Mental Health Recovery

by John Folk-Williams 6 Comments

Mental Health Recovery

My understanding of mental health recovery came from experience with the standard treatments: psychotherapy and medication. Until the 1990s, I worked exclusively with psychiatrists for both. In that setting, I can’t recall anyone talking to me about recovery or what I wanted to get out of treatment. The assumption was that I would be in […]

Filed Under: Recovery, Self-Help Tagged With: psychiatry, treatment

Mindfulness as Self-Help for Anxiety

by John Folk-Williams 4 Comments

There’s nothing like extreme anxiety to make you feel like you’re falling apart. Using a few basics of mindfulness as self-help may be a way to pull yourself back together. The all-embracing anxiety I’m talking about comes close to panic. It’s an explosion of fear that hits everything. Certain situations can set it off, or […]

Filed Under: Anxiety, Mindfulness, Self-Help Tagged With: fear

On the Other Side of Fear

by John Folk-Williams 22 Comments

Barbed wire strand

Fear has a way of setting boundaries that can’t be crossed. If you do cross them, you know you’ll pay a price – a pain or terror you can’t endure. The boundary is protection. Inside it, you’re safe. I think of the anxiety I feel when moving through depression as the warning sign. You’re getting […]

Filed Under: Psychotherapy, Self-Help Tagged With: boundaries, cognitive behavioral therapy, depression, fear, memory, OCD

The Challenge of the Ordinary

by John Folk-Williams 7 Comments

Challenge of the Ordinary in Depression

When I’m depressed, I dwell most on the failings of the past and the expected disappointments of the future, but there is also the challenge of the ordinary moments of the present. The challenge when depressed is to recognize the things I do well but unconsciously, the daily actions I’m good at but ignore when […]

Filed Under: Mindfulness, Self-Help Tagged With: awareness, depression, judgment, memory, well-being

How Stress Can Shape a Life Story

by John Folk-Williams 11 Comments

spiral shapes

The psychologist Richard O’Connor believes that we tell ourselves stories about our lives to control stress. Stress has a way of becoming a chronic condition. It wears down your body and damages your brain, especially when combined with depression. Yet stress is a killer we often crave like a drug. We create stories that help […]

Filed Under: Self-Help Tagged With: awareness, life, story, stress

Does Finding Purpose in Life Help You Overcome Depression?

by John Folk-Williams 61 Comments

Finding purpose in life to overcome depression

Finding purpose in life that goes beyond your personal needs is often mentioned as a major step in overcoming depression. That’s a hard thing to imagine, though, when you’re in the middle of a severe relapse, and survival is the only goal in sight. Yet, one of the hallmarks of depression is loss of motivation […]

Filed Under: Purpose, Self-Help Tagged With: life, meaning, well-being

Self-Starting When Depressed

by John Folk-Williams 21 Comments

Michelangelo fresco detail

How can you activate yourself to get anything done when you’re depressed? Several readers have asked about this basic need to keep functioning when your mood, mind and body do not want to cooperate. I’ve written before about working when depressed, but it’s not only about work. It’s about self-starting when depressed so that you […]

Filed Under: Self-Help Tagged With: action, hope, symptoms, treatment, work

Becoming an Active Partner in Depression Treatment

by John Folk-Williams 2 Comments

Most stories about getting life back from depression describe how each person had to become an active partner in treatment in order to recover. I know it’s not easy to think about being active when you’re deeply depressed, but there’s a lot of support for the idea. Dozens of research studies indicate that if you can take a leading role, your chances of improving are better. There are at least three ways an active role can help you.

Filed Under: Healing, Self-Help Tagged With: partner

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Surviving Depression Together Now Available at Major Retailers

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Surviving Depression Together

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A Mind for Life Ebook Now Available at Major Retailers

A Mind for Life: From Depression to Living Well

A Mind for Life Ebook

The inner work of getting your life back from depression. This ebook is now available in most common ebook formats at major retailers.

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Living Depressed

Depression affects emotions, mental abilities, self-concept, behavior, relationships and the entire body. These core posts describe the full range of symptoms affecting daily life. Read More.

Choices in Healing

Hoping for recovery gives you a motive but not a method for getting there. This section has posts about therapies and healing methods you can work with either on your own or with professional guidance. Read more.

Living Well

If you've learned how to manage your depression, you'll want a fulfilling life rather than one dominated by fear that the illness might return. In this section, you'll find posts about how to work toward that goal. Read More

Relationships in Crisis

One of the hardest challenges of living with depression is holding onto your closest relationships. This section features posts on how to help a relationship survive. Read More.

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