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Do You Have to Lower Your Expectations of Life to Recover?

by John Folk-Williams 15 Comments

hope for recovery

I’ve often mentioned how crucial it has been to my recovery that I made basic changes in my work and way of living as a whole. Did I have to give up on hope and lower expectations of life in order to get better? My answer is No. But if you had asked me before […]

Filed Under: Healing, Recovery Tagged With: change, depression, hope, life, well-being

Updating Storied Mind

by John Folk-Williams Leave a Comment

Updating Storied Mind

This is just a short note to let you know that after ten years I have to update Storied Mind. That means a lot of changes: a new theme and background images, removing some features and generally simplifying things on the back end. All that reflects the demands of advancing WordPress technology and the massive […]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: change, smartphone, Storied Mind, WordPress

Can the Mind Heal Depression?

by John Folk-Williams 18 Comments

Abstract diamond shape

How can we draw on the power of our own minds to heal depression? As I’ve tried to answer this question, I’ve had to rethink my beliefs about recovery. This is the first in a series of posts to describe what I’ve been learning. Like everything else I’ve been writing about here, this search starts […]

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: change, connecting, mind, stress, symptoms

Changing Core Beliefs of Depression

by John Folk-Williams 11 Comments

Forest fire lighting sky

Getting well depends in part on changing core beliefs of depression that often begin to develop early in life. According to recent neuroscience findings, putting together a narrative about who you are is one of the most important parts of mental life. The narrative integrates many dimensions of mind: memory, emotion, thinking, sense perception, awareness, […]

Filed Under: Healing Tagged With: belief, brain, change, identity, mind, story

Doubt is Depression’s Last Stand

by John Folk-Williams 18 Comments

It was one thing to get depression out of my life. It was another to get it out of my memory. Doubt about recovery from depression could linger on and keep playing tricks with the past. Vivid memories of old words and actions while depressed continued to torture and twist through me. They became my […]

Filed Under: Anxiety, Self-Esteem Tagged With: belief, change, depression, fantasy, feelings, hope, life, memory

A Never-Ending Family Story Has to End

by John Folk-Williams 15 Comments

open horizon at sea

My never-ending family story has always been a hard scene in which I am very young and small and terrified. I’m staring at my parents and brother locked in combat. There may be no action, it usually flashes at me in tableau form, but there is plenty of rage, fear and hurt. There is a […]

Filed Under: Healing, Reslience Tagged With: Anger, awareness, change, family, fear, pattern

How Do We Change in Psychotherapy?

by John Folk-Williams 9 Comments

Autumn Leaf on Snow

The first session I ever had with a psychiatrist proved to me that I could achieve a real change through psychotherapy. While in college, I had been immobilized by panic attacks and was desperate to get help. I spent three hours with a psychiatrist deeply engaged in the confusing mass of experience I needed to […]

Filed Under: Healing, Psychotherapy Tagged With: avoidance, change, cognitive behavioral therapy, felt sense, focusing

Fear of Change in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

by John Folk-Williams 12 Comments

Dazed and Awake

One of the interesting things about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is that you can’t think about it too much. You have to do it. Hence the acronym ACT, to be spoken as the word. If you try to understand it with your mind alone, you’ll get stuck because the mind has too many blinders. I […]

Filed Under: Psychotherapy, Self-Help Tagged With: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, change, fear, mind, resistance

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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

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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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