With these 6 methods you pull yourself out of the deep
Conflicts that keep returning, fears that can not be controlled, depression: No matter what the problem is? it is difficult enough to get through to therapy. And when it is done, it is first slowed down: So far, pass from three to six months, until legally insured get an initial conversation with a resident psychotherapist.
Lawmakers have recognized this as a problem and have now ordered psychotherapists to offer individual appointments or crisis talks within days. However, those who actually need a therapy place must continue to be patient. Here are some methods you can use to help yourself a little bit from the deep in the meantime.
1. Emergency aid from the network
Even before her psychology diploma, Kati Bermbach witnessed how desperate people with depression are waiting for a therapy place, through her work as a student assistant in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the Berlin Charite. She wants to help? and with her fellow student Nora Blum she founds the internet-based procedure "Selfapy". For a year, sufferers can now use the service, they undergo exercises that are similar to cognitive behavioral therapy. Once a week you can call a psychologist. The three available courses? against depression, burn-out or anxiety disorders? last nine weeks and cost around 150 euros.
The effectiveness of selfapy is currently under scientific review, but many other online interventions have already proven to perform as well as traditional therapies. just when a therapist accompanies the execution. In particular, this applies to the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, most programs are not intended to replace therapy but to prepare, supplement or accompany patients thereafter. For people with mild depression, for example, MoodGYM and ifightDepression. Health insurance companies offer their insured persons free interventions (eg Deprexis, Master Mind). Another address for online therapies is Leuphana University Lüneburg with their page www.geton-training.de. Here you can choose among various well-studied self-help options.
2. Write problems from the soul
What diary writers suspect, is now proven: It makes actually happier and healthier to express their own feelings? by writing them of the soul. Expressive writing, as the therapeutic variant is called, has been intensively researched in recent years and is considered a proven strategy to reduce anxiety, pondering or depression. "Expressive writing in its structured, protected nature seems to bring people to deal with content that they otherwise would rather avoid," says Andrea Horn, a psychologist at the University of Zurich.
Everyone can try the method. Here's how it works: Choose a theme that touches you emotionally. And write about fifteen minutes? on paper or on the computer ?, for three or four days in a row. If nothing seems to happen to you, you may repeat yourself. Whether the text is destroyed or stored does not matter. Much more important is to write honestly and openly.
3. With light against the darkness
The gloom that can assault one on dark days is familiar to almost everyone. Especially during winter depressions, which disappear again in spring, has more light proven itself? through regular walks or special daylight lamps. However, a study by the University of British Columbia in Vancouver recently showed that light can also help people whose depression is not related to the season.
The depressive subjects were set for eight weeks daily for half an hour in front of a 10,000 lux strong lamp. In the end, patients benefited more than a comparison group who had received an antidepressant. But the biggest effect was seen in patients who got both? two thirds were free of complaints afterwards. Light controls the interaction of hormones and can help to synchronize a disturbed day-night rhythm, as depressives often have it. If you want to test a daylight lamp, sit down in the morning, for example at breakfast, half an hour before and every minute for a few seconds into the light.
4. Be yourself a friend
Who does not know the harsh self-criticism when something went wrong? The rigor with which we rate ourselves? You could also be friendlier, more loving, more encouraging. As a girlfriend would be. Self-compassion is the name of this approach, which has been increasingly explored for several years.People who look at themselves compassionately brood less and deal with failures more constructively.
The good thing is: you can learn this attitude. Those who regularly practice it feel better and suffer less from anxiety and depression than people who are less proficient in it. The courses developed by psychologists and psychiatrists are called "Mindful Self-Compassion" (MSC), "Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living" (MBCL) or "Compassion Focused Therapy" (CFT) and include, among other things, meditation, mindfulness and self-experience exercises. They usually run for more than eight weeks (eg via www.mbsr-verband.de).
5. Exercise is as effective as tablets
The good feeling that triggers sports in the body, you get to feel after a round of running. But regular exercise has an even more powerful effect on the psyche: depression and anxiety disorders can be treated as effectively as medication and psychotherapy, according to an analysis of 1600 studies. Sport is especially recommended as an accompanying measure. Exercise reduces inflammatory markers, promotes the growth of new brain cells, increases stress resistance, increases serotonin levels and increases self-confidence.
It is still unclear how much sport and in which intensity the psyche strengthens the most, so one can only follow general recommendations such as those of the World Health Organization WHO, which advises on two and a half hours of exercise a week. A ride on a bike can contribute to your work or just a quick walk. Just moderate exercise has a major and significant effect in relieving depression, researchers recently reported around Brazilian psychiatrist Felipe Barreto Schuch. However, it seems crucial that you become active at all, no matter how difficult it is.
6. Achieve body and mind with yoga
In ancient Indian scriptures was the effect of yoga already described? it is supposed to calm the mind. Psychologists from the University of Jena and the Friedrich Schiller University there investigated in a meta-analysis how helpful body-oriented yoga (for example, hatha yoga) can be in the treatment of mental disorders. Overall, the studies examined showed that yoga was able to significantly alleviate the symptoms of the diseases investigated, such as depression, anxiety disorders or schizophrenia, and increase the quality of life, says study leader Jenny Rosendahl.
Yoga should be considered as a complementary treatment option. In panic disorder, for example, the combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and yoga was more effective than either alone. However, yoga appears to be more effective in people with mild symptoms than those who are severely ill. The Professional Association of Yoga Teachers states that those affected are best trained in less-acute phases of yoga? to avoid a possible relapse in acute crises. Yoga classes are also offered at community colleges, for example.
