When you feeldepressedoranxious, you may beless likely to dothe things you enjoy or avoid other potentially pleasurable activities.
As you feel more and more isolated, you may begin to be at risk for depression.
These goals take the form of pleasurable activities that are consistent with the life you want to live.
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Behavioral activation is designed to increase your contact with positively rewarding activities.
Particularly when you notice yourself feeling anxious or depressed, you should work on an activity.
This teaches you that your behavior can affect your mood.
However, there are some ways you’re able to make behavioral activation more effective.
Basically, people identify activities based on what they think theyshouldbe doing as opposed to what theywantto do.
What matters to you?
What kind of life do you want to build for yourself?
Come up with specific activities that really matter to you and that are about your values and desires.
That is, can you quickly determine whether or not you have accomplished a task?
If the answer is “no,” then the activity you identified is likely too vague.
For example, let’s say that you came up with the activity, “Get organized.”
What does this mean?
What do you want to organize?
Instead, you may want to choose the activity, “Organize my kitchen.”
This is an activity that is specific and its completion can easily be measured.
When activities are specific and measurable, it can give you more direction in behavioral activation.
Therefore, you want to ensure it’s possible for you to see progress quickly.
you’ve got the option to do this by ranking your list of activities from easiest to hardest.
In doing so, you might confirm that you get active but also don’tstressyourself out too much.
It’s important that behavioral activation doesn’t become overwhelming or a source of stress for you.
Come Up With a Variety of Activities
You also don’t want behavioral activation to become boring.
Mix it up when it comes to the activities that you choose.
Establish a contract with a friend or family member.
Let them know about your activities and what you would like to accomplish during the week.
They can also serve as a cheerleader for you, increasing your motivation.
They may be stuck in their heads, worrying, or ruminating about the past.
This makes it difficult to connect with the positive aspects of engaging in a meaningful activity.
Even a small number of activities can have a big impact on your mood.
Reward Your Progress
Finally, remember to reward yourself for the progress that you make.
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