The 9 Symptoms of Depression and the Body Mind Emotions Connection That Heals Them

The 9 Symptoms of Depression and the Body-Mind-Emotions Connection that heals them:

First lets take a look at a real depression assessment tool that clinicians use to diagnose major and minor depressive disorders:

  The 9 Symptoms of Depression


Notice anything about these particular symptoms?


Like how each of the 9 symptoms fit into the categories of body, mind and emotions.

Notice how some of these symptoms don't even seem to be related or go together. But clinical depression involves all three areas because the body/mind/emotions are all exhausted, depleated and not getting stimulated but rather are going in a downhill spiral into worse and worse depression. (Frequency, duration, intensity all increase).

Let's take a look at the body-mind-emotions connection.


Body
1. Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or sleeping too much.
2. Feeling tired and having little energy
3. Poor appetite or over-eating
4. Moving or talking so slow others have noticed; or being restless and fidgety that you are moving around a lot more than usual

Mind
5. Trouble concentrating on things, reading, watching TV
6. Thinking you'd be better off dead or that you want to hurt yourself in some way.
(Thinking you're a failure or you've let people down - and other negative self-talk)

Emotions
7. Loss of interest or pleasure(Loss of emotion - especially pleasure.
(Sometimes not feeling anything at all "blah".)
8. Feeling down, depressed or hopeless
9. Feeling bad about yourself, or that you are a failure or let yourself or your family down

Four of the 9 symptoms are BODY symptoms....

Two of the symptoms are not depressed feelings, but depressed THINKING...

The main 3 we usually think of as depressed are the EMOTIONAL symptoms, and most people don't know there are 6 other symptoms to look at.


It made sense to me that if the symptoms were Body-Mind-Emotions, ....that the Mental Health and Wellness self-help skills that could help them were also, Body-Mind-Emotional.

Wellness has at least 8 dimensions.... and I also took a look at the 9 basic human needs.

Put all that together in an easy daily routine so the accumulative effect would reverse the course of the downward spiral of depression, and stimulate the upward spiral of recovery. One nano-baby step at a time. But to take steps, one needs a path, which is what recovery is. Taking action toward wellness goals is what the daily routine is all about.

I call it GRAPES, to make it easy to remember. I've been using it for years. I've written other blog posts about it

Get Your Mini GRAPES Workbook Here!

Download your daily grapes and 6 Part depression wellness booklet and videos starting here!

Watch the daily grapes and 6 Part Depression Wellness Videos starting HERE!

Last but not least, neuro-science has finally caught up with what alternative healing practitioners knew all alone: we need a holistic approach (body/mind/emotions) to heal. That's why yoga helps, that's why meditation helps. That's why doing self-nurturing things helps. That's why social support helps. That's why engaging in meaningful-for-you activities help.

All combines they work to sooth the exhausted body-mind-emotions, and, they strengthen the brain's neuro-pathways for wellness habits.

EFT Tapping on each of the SYMPTOMS is a great way to practice Symptom Management and it also speeds up recovery.

Here are Tapping Set Up Statements to TAP ON for Depression:

Body
1. Even thought I have Trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or sleeping too much, I love and accept myself.
2. Even thought I'm Feeling tired and have little energy, I love and accept myself.
3. Even though I have a Poor appetite or I'm over-eating, I love and accept myself.
4. Even thought I'm Moving or talking so slow others have noticed; or I'm acting restless and fidgety and am moving around a lot more than usual, I love and accept myself.

Mind
5. Even though I have Trouble concentrating on things, like reading, or watching TV, I love and accept myself.
6. Even though I sometimes Think I'd be better off dead or want to hurt myself in some way, I love and accept myself.
(Even though I Think I'm a failure or I've let myself, other people or my family down, I love and accept myself.)

Emotions
7. Even though I've Lost interest or pleasure in things I used to enjoy doing, I love and accept myself.
(Even though I Sometimes feel nothing at all or like "blah", I love and accept myself.)
8. Even though I'm Feeling down, depressed or hopeless, I love and accept myself.
9. Even though I Feel bad about myself, or that I'm a failure or that I've let myself or my family down, I love and accept myself.

TIPS:

Measure each one first on a scale of 1-10 how bad it is for you.
TAP on one at a time until the number goes down.
Rinse and Repeat as needed.

Sometimes it takes a few rounds over time to really get some movement and change after being stuck in depression for a while - so DON'T GIVE UP.  Keep Tapping like saying your prayers or brushing your teeth.

Sometimes it takes bringing the numbers down and then "catching your depression in the act" later and Tapping on that at that time, makes all the difference.

Anytime you notice a PATTERN in your thinking or feeling or reacting - TAP on that pattern, thought or reaction.

Now you're healing and moving forward, now you're healing depression and creating wellness at the same time by doing your daily routines

Now you're flushing out stuck energy and creating new neural (and energetic) pathways in the body-mind to move forward into your natural state of being, rather than being held back and stuck.



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Self Care For Mental Health Workers, Peer Support Specialists, IHSS Workers, Social Workers, Therapists & Healing Practitioners

Self Care For Mental Health Workers, Peer Support Specialists, IHSS Workers, Social Workers, Therapists & Healing Practitioners is your Number #1 Top Priority.

Be dedicated to it.

It will save your life and many others as well.

You're no good to anyone when you are burnt-out.

Wellness is a lot about prevention and delayed rewards, so it's extra important to create a daily wellness plan to have to keep at it.

Your health is important

Your mental health is important.

Your ability to speak and teach and mentor about recovery and wellness from your own experience is important.

You are a role model in helping others, so practice what you preach and you'll feel better and your clients will take notice too. Win-Win.

There are countless benefits to self-care, including the awesome accumulated effect is has on one's life. The more you do it and the longer you practice it, the better everything gets.

There's been a lot of new brain science out in the last couple years that shows self-care activities are healing the brain and stimulating the brain to heal you!  How awesome is that! It's like giving yourself a ton of healthy anti-depressants and anti-anxiety boosts rolled into one.

People usually come up with all the excuses and reasons why they can't keep at it or they're too busy or they'll forget. So here are some tips to make is super easy and fun to do that you look forward to.

First of all, only pick a few activities for your first daily routine. Even just one activity for 5 minutes is better than zero. So the first tip is make it EASY.

People like easy. If it feels easy, then you're more likely to do it. So this is not "goal setting" and this is not a "list of things to do", this is a wellness routine you can live with.

Second to easy is it has to be FUN!  People love to do things they find fun. So think of a few ideas of what you enjoy, what makes you happy and find some (or just one) fun activities that you could add into your daily routine.

Third, there's no way out of it so you might as well embrace it and find your favorite way to exercise.  There has to be some form of MOVEMENT in your daily routine. Even if it is to get up out of your chair more often. Sitting is the new smoking. If you must sit or lay down most of your day for whatever reason, get up an extra time each day and make that your movement daily routine for awhile.  You can always increase it later to getting up every 2 hours for a short walk around the house or office.

I know many of us collapse at night and on weekends. We give all we got to others who are so needy and need our help that we are spent and hit the bed face first and lay there for an hour before getting up the energy to eat. Or we lay on the couch and binge-watch our favorite shows and barely open the curtains.

Mental and physical exhaustion is real and it only gets worse over time so even though you may feel too tired to move, the more you move, the more energy you will have. "Motion is lotion", moving nourishes all your joints and blood and oxygen flow etc. etc.

If you're at this low point, then move more by doing some arm stretches or leg lifts during the commercials.

If you're not that far gone, then add in a daily walk or 15 minuets of yoga poses or anything you find easy and fun to do.  I started off with doing Qigong (self taught with YouTube vidoes) at home and it did wonders for my achy, stiff, exhausted body.

All you need to do is INCREASE your movement each day to accomplish this daily routine. Take more stairs, park father away in the parking lot at the store. Walk around, stretch, dance, yogo, Ti Chi, bouncing on an exercise ball, riding your bike, swimming, practice martial arts moves. Come up with your own routine. But so something physical each day and watch your mood improve and your body thank you with feeling stronger, more energetic and less aches and pains.

Fourth - SOCIAL SUPPORT - any social support will do; one on one with friends, chatting in an online group, face to face support groups, mentors, sponsors, hotlines, warm lines. As long as you are social with one human being per day and that you increase your options of social support from people who have something in common with you - you are fulfilling your social support need. Even journal writing or self-help book reading can be a form of social support, but try to do every other day with a real human being. We need touch, we need the personal energy of being with people, and we're social being with a real need to engage and connect.

If nothing else, say hello to everyone you pass by or every clerk at the store, etc. Don't go inside forever even if you are the world's most introverted person, we still need each other. Weed out the assholes that give us good people a bad name, and look for like-minded future friends who are cool.

Fifth - have at least one GOAL you are working on in your life and each day take a tiny or large step toward it. Part of your daily routine should include taking at least 1 action that is moving you closer to accomplishing something that you really want. Decide what that one thing is and write down some actions you need to take to get there, and each day try to accomplish a baby step in that direction. Even if you spend time brainstorming your goal, that counts. So focus on your desires, wishes, dreams and goals, pick a few you can work towards over time and each day take one.

You'll feel a sense of pride and accomplishment and eventually you will have the reward of the goal complete and you'll be excited to set new goals to work toward. Don't over-do it, pick 1-3, maybe 5 top goals for the year and find every day actions that you can easily do toward them. Drop them if you have to and just stick to one at a time. Be nice to yourself, don't overwhelm yourself with workaholic frenzy and then beat yourself up for not being superwoman. No one can. One of my first goals was to learn Qigong. There were 18 moves I had to learn and memorize, so I got my movement and my goal action done at the same time. That's not cheating to combine goals. It's actually a very smart thing to set goals around your daily routine.

It's the daily routine over time that will save your ass in the long run anyway.

Sixth: PERSONAL PLEASURE!

Each day treat yourself to something pleasurable that you enjoy or is relaxing, refreshing or just plain feels good.  This could be anything because everyone is different. It could be losing yourself in a book or an art project, it could be enjoying your favorite songs, it could be a bubble bath, it could be fixing your favorite meal, taking a joy ride in the car exploring a new part of your town, it could be a hobby or a pet, or playing games or watching comedy shows. Anything that feels good, makes you feel good and that you're glad you did it when you look back on it later.

Seventh Tip is: REWARD yourself!  Give yourself rewards and treats for getting things done and for doing your routine. You can even "trick" yourself into doing your routine by making it mandatory for you to get an activity done before you can "reward" yourself with going back to sitting around doing nothing all day. If you're so tired you just need rest, then make yourself get something done first. For example, I use to run out of something on purpose and then have to walk to the corner store to go get it and then I'd say hello to the store clerk and walk back with my item. Then I'd crash on the couch and watch my favorite movies. After a few hours, I made myself stretch and do leg lifts on the commercials.  I'd put on my favorite music and before you knew it I had the urge to get up and dance a few minuets.  The secret to rewards is it gives you an incentive to get something done you might otherwise ignore.

Keep in mind you might not feel like doing any of these things - the whole point of a daily routine you plan in advance and try to accomplish each day (no one is perfect, so don't worry if you don't get it all done every day, instead strive to get what you can done).  The point is having a routine you can get back to or start over again each day.  If you have it planned and you already know there's a benefit in it for you later, then its easier to just do it as a homework assignment rather than wait until you "feel like it" to get it done.

Remember, the more you do, the better you feel. Not the other way around... so sometimes you have to force yourself to jump-start the doing and then you feel better later.

Self-Care and Wellness are things we do to prevent future break-downs. So have a think and brainstorm your daily wellness self-care routine and then get one thing done TODAY!!


Here's an Example of one of my first WELLNESS ROUTINES:

G - Goal:  Learn 18 Qigong moves
R - Reward: Reward myself by watching my favorite shows
A - Action: Practice a Qigong move and try to do without watching video
P - Pleasure: Enjoy chocolate, cafe moca or lose self in coloring
E - Exercise: Practice a Qigong move and try to memorize it
S - Social: Say hello to everyone I come across.


Now, this might not seem like much, and it may seem like the over-lap in activities is "cheating", but hey, it got me going. It got me doing. It got me used to a daily routine of self-care and wellness.

A year after this I was riding my bike almost every day and my goal was to go a little farther each day. I had built up to about 5 miles!  And then I learned tennis!  One does not just go from the couch depressed to playing tennis..am I right? But look where that little Qigong move got me over time.

Another time my goal was to read a long book and so each day I read a page.

I set little fun goals and big challenging goals and tried to mix it up so I wouldn't get bored. I made it fun and easy and gave myself a reward. The best news is that after a few years I was feeling the best I had felt in years and feeling younger and more alive and energetic and that made me a much better mental health counselor.

It's tough work helping people. It may take a couple years to learn the balance of helping others without it affecting you or making you exhausted. But its rewarding and fulfilling work and forces us to take self-care seriously which in the end is a gift in itself.

When you give yourself things to do you create an experience. THAT experience is causing your brain to trigger all the good neurotransmitters to help you feel better and heal your tired old brain and body. Doing may be fun, but its the after-glow affect that you savor and allow in that heals you on the inside. The more self-care experiences you have, the better you feel and the harder it is to relapse into bad feelings.

Remember, with depression, stress, exhaustion, you are feeling worse and doing less and its a downward spiral. When you create a wellness self-care routine you are doing more and feeling better. You are in effect, arresting the downward spiral and creating momentum for the upward spiral and it's accumulated effects that turn into self-rewarding loops.

Try it and see for yourself.

P.S. (Tell the inner critic to shut up and don't let it stop you from taking good care of yourself and giving yourself nurturing love, pleasure and attention.  You can even play creative games with your inner critic and say, "I suck at dancing? Ok, lets see (dance for a few minutes), "there, did that suck?", ok, whatever, thanks for sharing, but I still got my exercise in so the joke's on you inner critic, ha ha ha, I didn't do it good enough but at least I did it!  And it felt GOOD!)









Please SHARE using Social Media Buttons Below. There's someone out there would will appreciate you for it. Thank you! JP Bailey, M.A. Interested in EFT for Codependency Recovery? Get Relief from Emotional Pain & Relationship Issues! Blog: www.RecoveryTapping.blogspot.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/jp.baileyma Twitter: https://twitter.com/RecoveryTapping Kindle Book: "EFT for Codependency"

Step By Step Guide to Wellness [FREE PDF]

Click the link below to get your FREE PDF


"Step by Step Guide to Wellness"


Please SHARE using Social Media Buttons Below. There's someone out there would will appreciate you for it. Thank you! JP Bailey, M.A. Interested in EFT for Codependency Recovery? Get Relief from Emotional Pain & Relationship Issues! Blog: www.RecoveryTapping.blogspot.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/jp.baileyma Twitter: https://twitter.com/RecoveryTapping Kindle Book: "EFT for Codependency"

Ways to Replenish Your Energy When You Are Overwhelmed

This post is about "Ways to Replenish Your Energy", which came straight from my "Cream of the Crop" Recovery Tapping Binder.

See the original here:

WAYS TO REPLENISH YOUR ENERGY!


I knew there were times when we're just exhausted and fatigued and over-whelmed and we can't do another thing, no matter what recovery we're "suppose to be doing".

That's the time to peruse over this list and see what grabs you.

Sometimes you need to put your goals and "To Do" lists aside and just NURTURE SELF....

Do Nothing but PLEASURE YOURSELF, and don't be shy or ashamed of it.

You have my "permission" but really you learn to give yourself permission.

You learn to feel entitled to a little time-out, self-nurturing, "Me Time"...., So that you can be your BEST SELF and not the depleted, over-whelmed fatigues self you're forcing yourself through the motions with.  Your Real Self, your Natural State, is one in which action comes natural and feels fulfilling.

Remember, the voice or resistance inside that doesn't want you to do it, is just a part of you trying to get your attention because it has a message for you.... so embrace it..... Tap on it, see what comes up.

If not, you will burn out and continue getting worse and go downhill.  Maybe days, weeks, months or years later it catches up to you my friend.

I know in your 30's your in a hurry to get all your ducks and a row and in your 40's you're trying to get everything done and feel more urgency as you approach 50's to catch up with whatever you neglected or just couldn't get to years earlier....

....But, these things all require down time and restorative time along the way.

The paradox is, the more slowed down you get and mindfully do rest and relaxation, the more you actually get done and done well when you get back on your work horse.


Take it from me.  I had to make myself time. I had to schedule it in. I have to have "me time" and down time and quiet time.  I'm an introvert, I'm a counselor, I have to attend to ME.

And so do you.

Your homework assignment:  Once per week look over this list and pick one to indulge in for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to a whole day.  Just watch what happens during the rest of your week for having done so.

You are stimulating your endorphins and dopamine (feelings of relaxation and well-being) and you are giving yourself a break which is just what the doctor ordered when you're in over-whelm.

You  know how the saying goes.... If you're too busy to do 1 thing for 20 minutes, then you need to do 2 things for 40 minutes.  In other words, when you resist and don't think you can fit it in, or other inner messages that say I don't have time, I don't feel like it, etc.  THAT is the exact time that you double down your efforts and rebel. Do it anyway, just for the principle of it.

Later, afterwards, reflect on how you feel having done so, and you will find your life lessson and another gem to add to your Recovery Shrine if you will.  Collect these little diamonds along the way for those are ever-lasting where-as work is fleeting and you forget what you did each day years later.

You remember the diamonds and you draw on their strength to do it again because you see the real value and benefit they give you.

It's all about YOU.  Your decisions and your actions and your choices.

Choose wisely, with love for self.


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Thank you! JP Bailey, M.A.

Get Relief from Emotional Pain and Relationship Issues!

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Kindle Book: "EFT for Codependency"

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The Gauge Protocol Or How To Increase Your Energy, Vitality, Metabolism and MORE With EFT!

Here's a neat twist on the Tapping method.  Instead of 'Tapping' on problems, you can Tap on a measurement or gauge that you want to increase.

Say I ask you to rate your overall Energy Level from 1 -10. What number are you at right now?  How high or low is your Energy?

Good, now write that number down.

Then go through the Metabolism Protocol and TAP your Energy Level UP!

When done Tapping a round or two, re-take your gauge and see what the number feels like now. Hopefully the number went up.  Keep at it and your Energy-Body-Mind will follow along.

But, I thought, why stop there?  Why not TAP to INCREASE anything that you can measure or gauge.  Why not TAP to increase balance, strength, or even memory or mental clarity???

See full list of ideas I came up with here:

The Gauge Protocol

Now for the actual TAPPING Protocol on what to say while Tapping, I borrowed from the Metabolism Protocol you can see and download from here:

Metabolism Protocol

I figure why re-write the whole thing when I've had it in my Recovery Binder "Cream of the Crop" for years.  I just scanned the thing in its entirety so you can learn it too.  At the time I was working on my resistance to doing anything, like working out, because at the time I had mild depression and didn't know it.  I just knew I had this huge resistance to doing what I wanted, as if I had to force myself and swim through honey just to get it done - and it felt like drudgery!

When I found the Metabolism Protocol, I thought that was a great way to increase my energy and my willingness to work out.  As well as identify all the thoughts in my head that were discouraging me, so I could create Tapping Choices Statements and work on those.

It worked.  I was able to get up off my butt and do some power walking and other exercise so I could burn off the food I was eating and counter-act the sedentary lifestyle I was living which mainly consisted of sitting at my lap top and laying on the couch watching TV.


Try it out.  It's a fresh take on Tapping and you might just increase your energy in a real way that helps you this week.

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JP Bailey, M.A.

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Very Basic Mini G.R.A.P.E.S. Booklet FREE PDF

You may have seen my 6 Part Depression Wellness Class PDF's and Videos.

Well, some people only come to one class, so I give them the "Mini" version so they get the gist of it and start working on their daily wellness routine or GRAPES.

Get Your Copy Of My:  Very Basic Mini GRAPES Booklet PDF

Training on Very Basic Mini GRAPES Bklt VIDEO


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There's someone out there would will appreciate you for it.

Thank you!
JP Bailey, M.A.

 Interested in EFT for Codependency Recovery? Get Relief from Emotional Pain & Relationship Issues!

Blog: www.RecoveryTapping.blogspot.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/jp.baileyma
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RecoveryTapping
Kindle Book: "EFT for Codependency"