Blog - Chaska Counseling and Guidance, LLC

Understanding Depression

Most of us have had short period of time where weʼve felt depressed. Weʼve felt sad for no particular reason, lost our motivation for doing things we generally enjoy, or just felt persistently tired. For most of us, this feeling will last just a few hours or maybe for a few days. But for some, depression is something that can interfere with daily functioning.
From a diagnostic perspective, major depression consists of several symptoms which have been present for a period of at least two weeks.
Those symptoms must include at least five of the following:

depressed and/or irritable mood most of the day, nearly every day;
loss of interests in activities that would usually be pleasurable;
disrupted sleep including insomnia or excessive sleep or sleepiness;
change in body movements (slowed or restless/agitated);
fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day;
changes in appetite, including significant weight loss (when not dieting) or weight gain;
feelings of worthlessness or guilt nearly every day;
decreased ability to concentrate, or indecisiveness;
recurrent thoughts of death, or suicidal ideation, with or without plan.

Within the context of major depression, these symptoms cause significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, and other important areas of functioning. Most experts agree that a combination of antidepressant medication and psychotherapy is the most effective treatment for moderate to severe clinical depression. With intervention and support, symptoms can be alleviated. If you are experiencing depression, please contact me at (952)484-3509 to schedule an assessment. You deserve to be free from depression–help is available!
Lisa Knudson, LICSW
Chaska Counseling and Guidance, LLC
562 Bavaria Lane
Chaska, MN 55318
(952)484-3509
www.chaskacounselinglisaknudson.com

Procrastination and Anxiety

Procrastination and anxiety are normal human emotions and experiences, but they can sometimes lead to entrenched thinking patterns and behaviors that can feel paralyzing.

Procrastination begins with an anticipation. For example, you face a priority or activity that you initially perceive as anxiety producing. The activity is judged as inconvenient, tedious, or frightening. When we avoid discomfort or fear, we feel temporary relief from this retreat. Anxieties and procrastination share a common feature: an impulsive reaction to avoid discomfort. When a fearsome situation looms, we may not think about our thinking.

Imagine the student who has a report to write that is due in ﬁve days. He feels awkward about the writing task. Self-doubt creeps in and he begins to worry heʼll receive a poor grade and his teacher will make critical comments about his work. Instead of examining his fearful thinking, the student begins to associate the writing assignment with discomfort. He avoids.

Itʼs common for us to miss a signiﬁcant self-observant step when weʼre feeling anxious: what we tell ourselves about the situation weʼre avoiding and the emotion we feel. By thinking about our thinking, we can identify the pattern and refocus our attention on what we want to accomplish. When we veer from the task we want to avoid, we may experience temporary relief. It is typically costly in the long run, however. When we focus on gaining relief, we can can take hours avoiding what may take several minutes to do. When this pattern is repeated, it can result in feelings of despair, long-term stress and fewer achievements.

Tips for Breaking the Habit of Procrastination

When you feel tempted to procrastinate, use the temptation as a signal to think about your thinking. Keep a log, if needed, describing the anxiety producing situation, and your accompanying thoughts and feelings.
Rather than withdrawing from discomfort, accept that the solution for both procrastination and fear includes facing and tolerating discomfort.
Do a short term and long term cost-beneﬁt analysis to assure yourself that a personal change to address the obstacle is truly meaningful to do.
Avoid diversionary actions (sidetracking yourself with behavioral, mental and emotional distractions, such as “later is better”).
Make a written contract with yourself, establishing what youʼll do, when youʼll do it, the rewards for following through, and a penalty for not following through. Fix a reward that is equal to the task.
Most challenges can be broken down into bits and pieces. Commit to a ten minute effort. Decide on the ﬁrst step, and spend ten minutes on the task at hand.

At the end of that ten minutes, decide if youʼll commit to ten minutes more and so on until youʼve progressed through living through the discomfort associated with taking that step.

I hope that these tips will be helpful for you. The bottom line is, avoidance strengthens anxiety and the pattern of procrastination. And the good news is, unpleasant feelings dissipate as we live through them and meet challenges.

If youʼd like to address the effects of anxiety or procrastination in your life, therapy can be a helpful tool. Please contact me at (952) 484-3509, if youʼd like to schedule an appointment. Together, we can develop a treatment plan tailored to your individual needs, for positive change and growth.

Lisa Knudson, LICSW
Chaska Counseling and Guidance, LLC
562 Bavaria Lane
Chaska, MN 55318

(952)484-3509

www.chaskacounselinglisaknudson.com

Tips for Reducing Mild Depression

If you are feeling mildly depressed but are able to function well in important areas of your life (work, home, family, etc.) you may want to try a few self-help methods that may create significant improvement.

Some helpful tips for mild depression:

1) Get enough sleep. Try to go to bed and get up at roughly the same time each day. Computer time, video games and television before bedtime can all contribute to initial insomnia, so give yourself a minimum of one hour to relax, unplugged from technology. Make sure that you get up on time, get dressed and get going. It’s important to complete daily routines, even when we feel unmotivated or blue.

2) Begin a routine of regular aerobic exercise (walking or jogging, for example) for at least 20 to 30 minutes per day. Studies have shown that this one change may improve mild depressive symptoms as much as medication or therapy.

3) Eat healthy foods (fruits, vegetables, and a daily multivitamin). Consider reducing your intake of sugar, white flour and processed foods. Avoid alcohol, which is chemically, a depressant. Continued use of alcohol has been proven to create chemical changes in the brain, which intensifies mood swings, irritability and depressed mood.

4) Connect with other people. A common response to depression is the tendency to isolate. Participate in social activities and consider opportunities to help others through volunteer work.

5) Focus on the positive in yourself and the situation. When we are depressed, we frequently give ourselves all sorts of negative messages. What we think–our self talk–powerfully impacts the way we feel and view the world. Try writing down some of the things you find yourself thinking, and then write down a more positive rebuttal message. Practice giving yourself positive messages instead of negative ones. You may be surprised by how effective this is.

If after practicing these tips for several days, you continue to experience depressed mood, contact me for further assessment at (952)484-3509. There are times when we all need support beyond what we can offer ourselves. Invest in your care and well being–you’re worth it!

Lisa Knudson, LICSW
Chaska Counseling and Guidance, LLC
562 Bavaria Lane
Chaska, MN 55318

(952)484-3509