Comments on: Exercise to treat depression and anxiety http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/ Wake up to the danger of sociopaths Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:17:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: pollyannanomore http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/comment-page-1/#comment-57550 pollyannanomore Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:36:42 +0000 http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/#comment-57550 Self efficacy is a very important concept - I wonder if you might consider doing a post at some point about how to recover self efficacy from a standpoint of helplessness. I hate the term 'learned helplessness' because it generally blames the victim and in these relationships victims have had quite enough blame. But I have to acknowledge that I do feel quite helpless at the moment in terms of solving practical problems in my life to move it forward. My question is how do you recover self efficacy when you don't have any confidence to take the actions required to retrieve it? What would be some gentle first steps for those who are severely affected? Staying stuck after the relationship ends is affecting me deeply yet I feel powerless to do anything about it. If I were to describe it, I would say it is lack of motivation, lack of self confidence and most of all lack of self efficacy - when you lose those things you become afraid to tackle anything in life. I walk more than the prescribed amount, don't think I have a long standing clinical depression, but struggle in taking the actions needed to turn my life around - what is that about? Is it fear of making a mistake? Conditioning left over from the relationship where I was unable to get anything I wanted and my choices didn't count? How do you move out of it? I wasn't always this way. I used to have lots of enthusiasm and energy for changing things in my life and no major fear or anxiety. I now think 'What's the point?' when I contemplate what I would need to do to change my life to the way I think I would like it. Is it something you just move out of given time? Has anyone else experienced this gloomy feeling? Moved past it? How did you do it? I would really appreciate some advice here now I have moved on from the crying all the time phase! I don't want to be stuck in this anhedonia forever ... Self efficacy is a very important concept – I wonder if you might consider doing a post at some point about how to recover self efficacy from a standpoint of helplessness. I hate the term ‘learned helplessness’ because it generally blames the victim and in these relationships victims have had quite enough blame. But I have to acknowledge that I do feel quite helpless at the moment in terms of solving practical problems in my life to move it forward.

My question is how do you recover self efficacy when you don’t have any confidence to take the actions required to retrieve it? What would be some gentle first steps for those who are severely affected? Staying stuck after the relationship ends is affecting me deeply yet I feel powerless to do anything about it. If I were to describe it, I would say it is lack of motivation, lack of self confidence and most of all lack of self efficacy – when you lose those things you become afraid to tackle anything in life. I walk more than the prescribed amount, don’t think I have a long standing clinical depression, but struggle in taking the actions needed to turn my life around – what is that about? Is it fear of making a mistake? Conditioning left over from the relationship where I was unable to get anything I wanted and my choices didn’t count? How do you move out of it?

I wasn’t always this way. I used to have lots of enthusiasm and energy for changing things in my life and no major fear or anxiety. I now think ‘What’s the point?’ when I contemplate what I would need to do to change my life to the way I think I would like it. Is it something you just move out of given time?

Has anyone else experienced this gloomy feeling? Moved past it? How did you do it? I would really appreciate some advice here now I have moved on from the crying all the time phase! I don’t want to be stuck in this anhedonia forever …

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]]> By: Liane Leedom, M.D. http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/comment-page-1/#comment-846 Liane Leedom, M.D. Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:55:49 +0000 http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/#comment-846 Excellent comment above. Those who do best take action to recover. If talking is not followed by action, there will be no recovery. Excellent comment above. Those who do best take action to recover. If talking is not followed by action, there will be no recovery.

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]]> By: nottakingitanymore http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/comment-page-1/#comment-845 nottakingitanymore Mon, 20 Aug 2007 10:20:46 +0000 http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/#comment-845 Maybe one of the reasons that exercise works is that those who are anxious and depressed have spent too much time talking and/or thinking about their problems and they feel a need to take action. The exercise itself doesn't actually work toward fixing any problem (with the exception of improving the body), but maybe it "fools" the mind into thinking that something is being done. I know that I, personally, can only do so much talking and thinking. When I have a problem, I need to take action to solve that problem. Too much talking and thinking serves only to make me feel that I am wallowing in the problem. I have to wonder if a person is enjoying the misery that the problem is causing if he just talks about it, rather than doing something about it. One more point: Dr. Benjamin, PLEASE use paragraphs. You have good information, but it is difficult to read without paragraphs. Some people will see the long stretch of words without any white space and will not make the effort to wade into it. Maybe one of the reasons that exercise works is that those who are anxious and depressed have spent too much time talking and/or thinking about their problems and they feel a need to take action. The exercise itself doesn’t actually work toward fixing any problem (with the exception of improving the body), but maybe it “fools” the mind into thinking that something is being done.

I know that I, personally, can only do so much talking and thinking. When I have a problem, I need to take action to solve that problem. Too much talking and thinking serves only to make me feel that I am wallowing in the problem. I have to wonder if a person is enjoying the misery that the problem is causing if he just talks about it, rather than doing something about it.

One more point: Dr. Benjamin, PLEASE use paragraphs. You have good information, but it is difficult to read without paragraphs. Some people will see the long stretch of words without any white space and will not make the effort to wade into it.

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]]> By: Liane Leedom, M.D. http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/comment-page-1/#comment-642 Liane Leedom, M.D. Thu, 07 Jun 2007 03:13:19 +0000 http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/#comment-642 Dear Dr Benjamin, Thank you for commenting on our site. I agree with your comments above. I treated people with treatment resistant depression for many years. The CBT piece is very important. The point is that we have to work at having good physical and mental health. Also having recently surveyed people who have been involved with sociopaths, they don't tend to be the over anxious neurotic types. As a group, they tend to be out going and rather low in anxiety. The trauma from an experience like this is so severe that it can cause depression in a person without the predisposition you describe. Dear Dr Benjamin,

Thank you for commenting on our site. I agree with your comments above.

I treated people with treatment resistant depression for many years. The CBT piece is very important.

The point is that we have to work at having good physical and mental health.

Also having recently surveyed people who have been involved with sociopaths, they don’t tend to be the over anxious neurotic types. As a group, they tend to be out going and rather low in anxiety. The trauma from an experience like this is so severe that it can cause depression in a person without the predisposition you describe.

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]]> By: beden http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/comment-page-1/#comment-615 beden Mon, 28 May 2007 07:59:48 +0000 http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/#comment-615 Hi I agree with your recommendations about exercise. But I feel that we so often miss the point. And what is the point? We spend our whole lives coping. Some do it better than others. Some do it in such a way that we, their Physicians, know that sooner or later depression and anxiety will occur. After 38 years as a Psychiatrist I have to a few conclusions. Manny of them are self evident. Let me try anyway: ~Thoughts and feelings are interacting and feed of each other. They make each better or worse. They can get into a vicious circle. ~Emotions consist of thoughts and feelings and are reaction to an event. ~If an emotion continues to exist after an event it is called a mood. It may also be an indication of a vicious cycle. There is a diminution in quality of life ~When the mood becomes such that there is a diminution in function the patient is ‘officially’ depressed. He is not just suffering poor quality of life. He is now ‘not doing’ too. At this point you are probably asking yourselves ‘so what?’ Well if we could find what makes some people more prone than others we could reduce the ‘rate of descent’. We may even prevent it. Exercise certainly does ‘reduce the rate of descent’. Let me take you a bit further. I said that thoughts and feelings are interlinked and interact. The next part is my own observations and explanations. All I can say in their defense is that they work for me! We use two channels to input information. Think of it as two radios playing together. We pay attention to one. We are vaguely aware of the other. In other words we have one channel paying attention to what we are doing. In this case you are reading this webpage. But you are aware of everything around you. That is the second subliminal channel’s input. This second subliminal channel is the key. Normally it is subliminal .But not always. It is screening what is going on and silently noting it. Sometimes there will occur something that is significant. Or it may be significant. It needs marking. But how do we do this? We use feelings. Maybe good, maybe bad or maybe threatening event s all have their appropriate feelings. So a feeling appears that is not related to this page. You are prepared for something but the thought is still subliminal. The next stage is that the subliminal event engenders such feelings that it drags your attention from what you were doing and you now devote your main thought channel to the previous subliminal event. Again you may ask ‘so what’? What is the point that I am trying to make? At the outset I said that some people cope better than others. Some are destined to make the ‘descent into depression.’ We know who they are. They are the worriers. They are the over conscientious. They ‘are good for other and terrible for themselves’. Why? They oversubscribe feelings to events. They over emphasis what may happen and use feelings as the ’subliminal maker’. They are emotionally overburdened. They are liable to get into the thought feeling vicious circle. They are loaded for the descent into depression. They are completely unaware of all this. This is the way they are, they explain. And they are right. They know that they are different, but they do not know why. Or what is the significance. They often make a virtue of the very trait that is detrimental to them. They gladly accept that they have poor quality of life. Why not? They have known nothing else. Are medications the answer? Maybe if you are depressed. But medications will not prevent relapse when ceased. Medications cannot improve quality of life. Only CBT [Cognitive Behavioural Therapy] can do this reasonably well. I became convinced that CBT can be given as Self-Help. It can be done so effectively and conveniently online. I have spent nine years making the free Online CBT Self-Help site myRay [http://www.myRay.com] myRay [http://www.myRay.com] really is free. I am a non commercial venture. Please you myRay [http://www.myRay.com] as often and as freely as you like. I hope that it helps you. With kindest regards Dr. Michael Benjamin Psychiatrist Hi
I agree with your recommendations about exercise.
But I feel that we so often miss the point.
And what is the point?
We spend our whole lives coping. Some do it better than others.
Some do it in such a way that we, their Physicians, know that sooner or later depression and anxiety will occur.
After 38 years as a Psychiatrist I have to a few conclusions. Manny of them are self evident. Let me try anyway:
~Thoughts and feelings are interacting and feed of each other. They make each better or worse. They can get into a vicious circle.
~Emotions consist of thoughts and feelings and are reaction to an event.
~If an emotion continues to exist after an event it is called a mood. It may also be an indication of a vicious cycle. There is a diminution in quality of life
~When the mood becomes such that there is a diminution in function the patient is ‘officially’ depressed. He is not just suffering poor quality of life. He is now ‘not doing’ too.
At this point you are probably asking yourselves ‘so what?’
Well if we could find what makes some people more prone than others we could reduce the ‘rate of descent’. We may even prevent it. Exercise certainly does ‘reduce the rate of descent’.
Let me take you a bit further.
I said that thoughts and feelings are interlinked and interact. The next part is my own observations and explanations. All I can say in their defense is that they work for me!
We use two channels to input information. Think of it as two radios playing together.
We pay attention to one. We are vaguely aware of the other. In other words we have one channel paying attention to what we are doing. In this case you are reading this webpage.
But you are aware of everything around you. That is the second subliminal channel’s input.
This second subliminal channel is the key.
Normally it is subliminal .But not always. It is screening what is going on and silently noting it. Sometimes there will occur something that is significant. Or it may be significant. It needs marking. But how do we do this?
We use feelings. Maybe good, maybe bad or maybe threatening event s all have their appropriate feelings. So a feeling appears that is not related to this page. You are prepared for something but the thought is still subliminal. The next stage is that the subliminal event engenders such feelings that it drags your attention from what you were doing and you now devote your main thought channel to the previous subliminal event.
Again you may ask ‘so what’? What is the point that I am trying to make?
At the outset I said that some people cope better than others. Some are destined to make the ‘descent into depression.’
We know who they are.
They are the worriers. They are the over conscientious. They ‘are good for other and terrible for themselves’.
Why?
They oversubscribe feelings to events. They over emphasis what may happen and use feelings as the ’subliminal maker’.
They are emotionally overburdened. They are liable to get into the thought feeling vicious circle. They are loaded for the descent into depression.
They are completely unaware of all this. This is the way they are, they explain. And they are right. They know that they are different, but they do not know why. Or what is the significance.
They often make a virtue of the very trait that is detrimental to them. They gladly accept that they have poor quality of life. Why not? They have known nothing else.
Are medications the answer? Maybe if you are depressed. But medications will not prevent relapse when ceased. Medications cannot improve quality of life.
Only CBT [Cognitive Behavioural Therapy] can do this reasonably well.
I became convinced that CBT can be given as Self-Help. It can be done so effectively and conveniently online.
I have spent nine years making the free Online CBT Self-Help site myRay [http://www.myRay.com]
myRay [http://www.myRay.com] really is free. I am a non commercial venture. Please you myRay [http://www.myRay.com] as often and as freely as you like. I hope that it helps you.
With kindest regards
Dr. Michael Benjamin
Psychiatrist

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]]> By: willow http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/comment-page-1/#comment-613 willow Sat, 26 May 2007 12:36:30 +0000 http://www.lovefraud.com/blog/2007/05/26/exercise-to-treat-depression-and-anxiety/#comment-613 It really makes sense to me that to get into a physical shape would help the mental shape of your days and experiences. It really makes sense to me that to get into a physical shape would help the mental shape of your days and experiences.

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