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Chapter Two - Depression And Depression

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Chapter Two - Depression

Section 2.1 - Introduction While the basics of active listening are helpful in most conversations, it is also very important to understand more complicated issues. A majority of people suffer from depression at least once in their lifetime. Depression is not as simple as the emotional feelings of a low moods but also incorporate cognitive, behavioral, and physical symptoms. Understanding the way depression affects someone can help in conversations. Depression symptoms include but are not limited to:
Fatigue
Irritability
Difficulty concentrating
Nervousness
Self critical thoughts
Hopelessness
Negativity
Suicidal thoughts
Decreased involvement in activities enjoyed in the past
Withdrawal from loved ones
Sleep …show more content…

I always fail, no matter how hard I study. I always end up feeling unfocused and exhausted afterwards. I am not good enough.”

Section 2.2 - Tracking Symptoms A large part of recovery of depression rests on the second party’s willingness to work. In this chapter tools adapted from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) will be presented to the listener and the listener can then help guide the second party through some exercises. Remember to continue listening to the second party through applications of active listening along with providing specific exercises or resources. Tracking symptoms is a very good baseline to start off with. Often the intensity of symptoms will fluctuate and tracking when they fluctuate can help someone understand why they are fluctuating. Increases in symptoms are not a bad or unusual occurrence but can be signaling towards a pattern of recovery. Sometimes a specific reason can contribute to the increase which is important to identify but sometimes there is not an identifiable reason. A decrease in symptoms can indicate that recent changes are making a positive impact. For each section tally a score:

Depression Inventory
Symptom
Not at all
Sometimes
Frequently
Most of the time
1. Sad

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