Well-Being Therapy—An Effective Tool in Depression Treatment
An innovative therapeutic approach that encourages individuals to focus on feelings of life satisfaction and well-being rather than dwelling on feelings of distress is showing promise in the treatment of people with depression, anxiety, and other psychological issues often associated with aging.
The strategy, called Well-Being Therapy (WBT), has been shown to improve symptoms in many people with major depressive disorder who are experiencing setbacks, such as the loss of effectiveness of long-term antidepressant treatment, residual symptoms following drug discontinuation, or early symptoms of relapse in multiple episodes of depression.
“Sometimes individuals who are depressed or unhappy with their lives tend to experience an absence of well-being and develop the tendency to focus on the negative,” says Amy Farabaugh, PhD, Director of Psychotherapy Research at the Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).
“WBT helps us to think about what is going well, to capture moments of pleasure that often go unnoticed. Instead of concentrating on issues that are causing distress, as other types of therapy tend to do, WBT teaches individuals to think more about any positive or even neutral moments and to try to build on these.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO
These helpful techniques are among the recommended strategies to help counteract negative thinking and reduce the risk for depression by helping individuals spot thought patterns that are unnecessarily negative, and then correct them.
- Learn to recognize negative automatic thoughts. Pay attention to your reaction to adversity. Do you blame yourself? Do you often feel hopeless and defeated? When something good happens, do you dismiss it as a lucky accident? Being able to recognize your habitual negative thought processes is the first step toward changing them.
- Examine your underlying beliefs. Do you think you must please everyone? Are you unforgiving of yourself? Examine the belief systems you may have learned in the past that may now be leading to biases in your thinking, and unnecessarily negative assessments of yourself and of events.
- Challenge negative thoughts. When you react to events with pessimism, question your negative thoughts. Think of other explanations for these events, and other possible outcomes. Think of possible causes of setbacks that are outside yourself. Notice how the anxiety, depression and loss of energy you feel when you think negatively eases when you think more positively.
- Distract yourself from negative thinking. After seeing the negative aspect of a situation, look for a positive aspect. Consciously shift from thinking about a problem to actively planning solutions. Make an effort to think positive thoughts, or to absorb yourself in an activity you enjoy. If you must, allow yourself to ruminate for a few minutes each day, and then avoid negative thoughts.
- Spend time with optimistic people. People who are positive about life will help you see the good in yourself and in the world around you, and reinforce optimistic thinking. If possible, limit your time with people who tend to “see the glass as half empty.”
Six aspects
WBT, first developed in the 1990s by Giovanni A. Fava, M.D., of the University at Buffalo, has been described in a number of research papers. However, a more in-depth examination of the technique is now available in a well-received book entitled Well-Being Therapy: Treatment Manual and Clinical Applications (Giovanni A. Fava, MD, S. Karger Publishers, Inc., 2016). The book contains a comprehensive look at the six basic areas of personal functioning that are essential to establishing healthy levels of well-being, and—in language easily comprehensible to the average reader—describes how each can be addressed. The web site, www.well-being-therapy.com provides still more information.
The six facets of well-being include:
➊Autonomy: Because people with depression tend to be overly concerned about the opinions of others, they may be inclined to rely on others for important decisions and are more likely to conform to social pressures. The goal of WBT is to develop a greater sense of independence and resistance to social pressures, and to strengthen the ability to evaluate oneself by personal standards, regulating behavior accordingly.
➋Personal growth: Depression may be associated with feelings of personal stagnation and lack of improvement over time, often accompanied by a sense of boredom with life and difficulty changing behaviors and attitudes. The goal of WBT is to develop a sense of personal potential and the feeling of personal growth and improvement over time, as well as a more open attitude toward new experiences.
➌Mastery of everyday situations: People with depression may have difficulty managing everyday affairs and feel unable to change or improve them. The goal of WBT is to develop a sense of mastery and competence in controlling external affairs, and improve the ability to find ways to fulfill personal needs and values.
➍A sense of purpose in life: Individuals with depression tend to lack a sense of direction and meaning in their lives, both past and present, and have difficulty establishing goals. The goal of WBT is to develop long-term goals that help provide a sense of meaning in life and a sense of directedness, as well as beliefs that give life purpose.
➎Positive relations with others: Close friendships and trusting relationships with others are often lacking in depressed people, who may have difficulty in being open with others and making compromises in order to enjoy ties with others. The goal of WBT is to build the ability to enjoy warm relationships with others that are characterized by empathy, affection, and intimacy, involve give-and-take, and demonstrate a concern for the welfare of others.
➏Self-acceptance: Depressed individuals tend to be disappointed with themselves and troubled about various personal qualities. They often regret what has happened in the past, and wish they were different in important ways. The goal of WBT is to develop an accepting attitude about personal qualities and past life, and adopt a more positive attitude toward the self.
Applying the principles
“As WBT is a fairly new treatment approach, it may be difficult to find therapists specifically trained in the technique,” Dr. Farabaugh says. “However, it may be possible to explore the basic WBT techniques with the help of a therapist trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT, a widely used therapeutic approach that strives to change an individual’s feelings by changing negative patterns of thinking or behavior) or a comparable therapeutic approach.”
If therapy is not an option, some individuals may benefit from applying the principles of WBT on their own. The central idea is to become more aware of thoughts in everyday life that are associated with feelings of well-being and life satisfaction and try to strengthen these, while learning to avoid thoughts that interrupt positive feelings and trigger depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem.
“Keep track of thoughts that are balanced or neutral, while also keeping a look-out for positive moments—as brief as they may be—and for the thoughts that prematurely interrupt moments of well-being,” Dr. Farabaugh advises. “By being aware of these interrupting thoughts, it may be possible to address them to increase positive moments.
“Every day, try to be more mindful of the things that are going well, and not just focus on what is going wrong. Though this may sound simplistic, in reality—especially in the context of depression and anxiety—capturing these thoughts and feelings is actually sometimes quite hard to do, and takes some practice and discipline.” MMM
The post Well-Being Therapy—An Effective Tool in Depression Treatment appeared first on University Health News.
Read Original Article: Well-Being Therapy—An Effective Tool in Depression Treatment »
Powered by WPeMatico
