My New Blog-Rise against Depression
Started a separate blog to jot down my musings about depression.
http://riseagainstdepression.blogspot.com/
Monday, September 22, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
Mindfullness Based Cognitive therapy
Depression affects a lot of people. They need not despair as there are lots of treatments out there which if given a chance will help them get through the ' black dog ' period. Black dog was the term used by Sir Winston Churchill to describe his depression and he often joked that the black dog had got him today.
Mindfullness or being aware or just being is the focusing of your mind on the here and now. Depression tends to warp your sense of time and you tend to focus more on the past turmoils or the uncertainty of the future. A simple way of being mindful is to take deep breaths and during inspirations counting from 0 to 10. Doing this about 8 minutes a day can help. Or you can just say, 'Ssssh!' and block out the riff raff of the thoughts that clutter yr mind.
Metacognitive therapy concentrates on the thought process per se and not on the thoughts. How you arrive at a thought ie the awareness of your thought process is supposed to makes a difference. In this school of thought, no judgements are made as regards the quality of yr thoughts.
On the other hand traditional cognitive therapy for treating depression deals more with the negative thoughts and judgements that you make and tries to change them or challenge them. You sort of talk back to your mind challenging your negative thoughts. Classically, a cognitive therapist would ask you about what is bothering you so as to bring your thoughts out for discussion. The next step is to find out how you feel having those thoughts. They try to break the thoughts down to identify the basic underlying disturbing thought and then dealing with correcting that.
A nice talk on Mindfullness based cognitive therapy is:
http://youtu.be/5eQ3MWz4yrI
Depression affects a lot of people. They need not despair as there are lots of treatments out there which if given a chance will help them get through the ' black dog ' period. Black dog was the term used by Sir Winston Churchill to describe his depression and he often joked that the black dog had got him today.
Mindfullness or being aware or just being is the focusing of your mind on the here and now. Depression tends to warp your sense of time and you tend to focus more on the past turmoils or the uncertainty of the future. A simple way of being mindful is to take deep breaths and during inspirations counting from 0 to 10. Doing this about 8 minutes a day can help. Or you can just say, 'Ssssh!' and block out the riff raff of the thoughts that clutter yr mind.
Metacognitive therapy concentrates on the thought process per se and not on the thoughts. How you arrive at a thought ie the awareness of your thought process is supposed to makes a difference. In this school of thought, no judgements are made as regards the quality of yr thoughts.
On the other hand traditional cognitive therapy for treating depression deals more with the negative thoughts and judgements that you make and tries to change them or challenge them. You sort of talk back to your mind challenging your negative thoughts. Classically, a cognitive therapist would ask you about what is bothering you so as to bring your thoughts out for discussion. The next step is to find out how you feel having those thoughts. They try to break the thoughts down to identify the basic underlying disturbing thought and then dealing with correcting that.
A nice talk on Mindfullness based cognitive therapy is:
http://youtu.be/5eQ3MWz4yrI
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
My experience at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Had a great time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Came close to the culture of the Middle East. A completely new environment of the desert. Hot and dry. A vibrant society of moderate Arabs who are very determined in preserving their culture. They hold Americans in high esteem. But, unlike Americans they are rigid in their outlook towards life. They are very disciplined and conscientious. They want the best of the world like all of us. They are like us but just different. A polite society, slightly formal and rewards merit and hard work. One of the best hospitals in the world are in Riyadh. The equipment is better than most US hospitals and what is astounding is that they are building better and larger facilities. Lots and lots of new construction. Good restaurants. Fantastic wide multi-lane roads. Large and modern malls. Vast open spaces.
Overall, a worthwhile trip and an experience of a lifetime!
Had a great time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Came close to the culture of the Middle East. A completely new environment of the desert. Hot and dry. A vibrant society of moderate Arabs who are very determined in preserving their culture. They hold Americans in high esteem. But, unlike Americans they are rigid in their outlook towards life. They are very disciplined and conscientious. They want the best of the world like all of us. They are like us but just different. A polite society, slightly formal and rewards merit and hard work. One of the best hospitals in the world are in Riyadh. The equipment is better than most US hospitals and what is astounding is that they are building better and larger facilities. Lots and lots of new construction. Good restaurants. Fantastic wide multi-lane roads. Large and modern malls. Vast open spaces.
Overall, a worthwhile trip and an experience of a lifetime!
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