Hi, Welcome back.
So far you have been able to identify signs and symptoms of depression and automatic thoughts. We also identified our feelings and needs. We have recalled times we had strong positive and strong negative emotions. We have learned about Socratic questioning and challenging our own thoughts! In addition we have learned guided meditation and progressive muscle relaxation as a coping tool.
Let’s review some key points:
Key points: Emotions come in ranges- are the emotions you are feeling proportionate to the situation? (Beck, p. 31)
You should expect to feel everything, and that is not a bad thing. Negative emotions are a normal part of life. (Beck, p. 31)
Give yourself credit!
Each day when you reach your goal of spending five minutes on challenging your thoughts, make sure you give yourself credit. Small changes have big results over time.
Identify patterns in negative distortions (5 minutes)
As we look back over these exercises in the last two weeks- are you finding that the same negative thought pops up? If you have been able to identify a pattern- let’s write that down and we will come back to it later.
When we have negative distortions we often find ways to cope with these distortions. Now, we have been learning some healthy ways like meditation and progressive muscle relaxation. Later today we will do a breathing exercise. For now we are going to examine our own healthy and unhealthy coping techniques.
Healthy vs unhealthy coping strategies (10 minutes)
Let’s take a look at this worksheet which discusses healthy vs unhealthy coping strategies.
So far you have been able to identify signs and symptoms of depression and automatic thoughts. We also identified our feelings and needs. We have recalled times we had strong positive and strong negative emotions. We have learned about Socratic questioning and challenging our own thoughts! In addition we have learned guided meditation and progressive muscle relaxation as a coping tool.
Let’s review some key points:
Key points: Emotions come in ranges- are the emotions you are feeling proportionate to the situation? (Beck, p. 31)
You should expect to feel everything, and that is not a bad thing. Negative emotions are a normal part of life. (Beck, p. 31)
Give yourself credit!
Each day when you reach your goal of spending five minutes on challenging your thoughts, make sure you give yourself credit. Small changes have big results over time.
Identify patterns in negative distortions (5 minutes)
As we look back over these exercises in the last two weeks- are you finding that the same negative thought pops up? If you have been able to identify a pattern- let’s write that down and we will come back to it later.
When we have negative distortions we often find ways to cope with these distortions. Now, we have been learning some healthy ways like meditation and progressive muscle relaxation. Later today we will do a breathing exercise. For now we are going to examine our own healthy and unhealthy coping techniques.
Healthy vs unhealthy coping strategies (10 minutes)
Let’s take a look at this worksheet which discusses healthy vs unhealthy coping strategies.
![](http://www.weebly.com/weebly/images/file_icons/pdf.png)
healthyunhealthycopingstrategies.pdf | |
File Size: | 32 kb |
File Type: |
Breathing techniques (5 minutes)
3 minute breathing space https://youtu.be/KwPZgprel40
Coping cards (13 minutes)
https://www.mycopingcards.com/
Summary:
In this session we discussed healthy vs unhealthy coping. When a strong emotion arises we have to cope! We can choose from the unhealthy or healthy coping bucket. Unhealthy coping habits are identified and healthy coping strategies reviewed.
Breathing technique video provided as a healthy coping tool. Coping cards discussed as another healthy coping tool. By examining our own healthy and unhealthy coping techniques, we are more likely to use healthy coping when strong emotions arise.
Continue to work on identifying cognitive distortions and replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts.
3 minute breathing space https://youtu.be/KwPZgprel40
Coping cards (13 minutes)
https://www.mycopingcards.com/
Summary:
In this session we discussed healthy vs unhealthy coping. When a strong emotion arises we have to cope! We can choose from the unhealthy or healthy coping bucket. Unhealthy coping habits are identified and healthy coping strategies reviewed.
Breathing technique video provided as a healthy coping tool. Coping cards discussed as another healthy coping tool. By examining our own healthy and unhealthy coping techniques, we are more likely to use healthy coping when strong emotions arise.
Continue to work on identifying cognitive distortions and replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts.