In an earlier post I recommended James Withey’s book “How to Tell Depression to P*ss Off” and passed on a couple of his hints. Here are another couple:

“Do the opposite” (chapter 3). I sometimes picture depression as an ugly gargoyle I call “Mr D”, and in low moods ask myself what Mr D would advise me to do – then don’t do it, or do the complete opposite. Example: I’m working away from home, I’ve had a tough day at work, and staying in a dingy hotel. Mr D tells me to slob out, drink a bottle of wine and stuff myself with comfort food. So I don’t. I google local restaurants and find a healthy vegetarian restaurant which doesn’t serve booze, and is a good 20 mins walk away (it’s a nice evening, the exercise will do me good). I come back feeling better, then ask the hotel manager if she could do me a cup of hot milk to help me sleep. The hotel is dingy, but she’s very nice, and serves me my hot milk with a smile (and no charge).

“Cut down on the booze” (chapter 26) – this is a terrific short chapter, and sound advice. Those of you who’ve seen Michael Yapko’s videos may recall him taking a much stronger line, i.e. don’t drink alcohol at all, but for many of us in Britain, where drinking is often such an ingrained part of social life, that’s a tall order. I’m sure many of you will share my experiences of being at social events where only a few drinks make it bearable; work events where “having fun” is mandatory are an obvious example. For a bit more inspiration on cutting down, I recommend David Nutt’s videos on YouTube,

Does this help anyone?

Garry

A Moodscope member.