About 30% of people will experience depression at some point in their lives, and most of us know what a depressed mood feels like. Because depressive episodes are common, there’s no lack of good advice out there. But depression is so challenging in part because it attacks our ability to do anything about it. Depression saps our energy, is demotivating, and makes it difficult to actually put that good advice into practice. In this episode, @RickHanson and I explore what we can do about this, and how we can break out of an episode of depressed mood.

We start by talking about what causes depression, introduce the biopsychosocial model, and identify an overall framework for most depressive episodes. We then explain the vicious cycle of depressed mood before focusing on what a person can do practically to break the cycle. Topics include identifying mindsets, changing how we interpret information, fully experiencing our emotions, rumination and ruminatory processes, taking in the good, and creating openness to possibility.

Key Topics:
0:00 Introduction
2:10 Distinguishing a depressed mood from MDD
7:20 Causes of depression
12:30 Absolutist beliefs and self-compassion
18:05 The paradox of motivation, and small ways to break the cycle
24:40 Fully experiencing your feelings, and emotional release
31:00 Discerning between thoughts and experiences
38:20 Rumination, finding evidence of positive change, and interoception
42:45 Recognizing what you don’t know, being receptive to love, and simply being
52:00 Recap

I’m not a clinician, and what I say on this channel should not be taken as medical advice.

Subscribe to Being Well on:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/being-well-with-dr-rick-hanson/id1120885936
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5d87ZU1XY0fpdYNSEwXLVQ

Who Am I: I’m Forrest, the co-author of Resilient (https://amzn.to/3iXLerD) and host of the Being Well Podcast (https://apple.co/38ufGG0). I’m making videos focused on simplifying psychology, mental health, and personal growth.

You can follow me here:
🎤 https://apple.co/38ufGG0
🌍 https://www.forresthanson.com
📸 https://www.instagram.com/f.hanson

Share on

Radio personality Charlamagne tha God joined CNN’s Chris Wallace and discussed mental health in the Black community. Watch the full episode of “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” streaming November 17 on Max. #CNN #News #Charlamagne #MentalHealth #Charlamagnethagod

Share on