Mental Health Awareness & First Aid
Anxiety
The following resource links and videos outline the general patterns of anxiety. Psychoeducation is the first place to start to better understand how anxiety might be affecting your life in ways you don't realize.
What is Anxiety?
Watch the video to learn more about the cycles of anxiety that all people experience in their everyday life.
*Resource Provided by Therapistaid.com
creating-an-exposure-hierarchy.pdfExposure Hierarchy
It’s normal to want to avoid situations that trigger intense and uncomfortable reactions. However, active avoidance of situations over a long period of time may cause these emotions and reactions to worsen. Exposure is a technique to combat avoidance. During exposure exercises, you’ll purposefully face those triggering situations in a safe and controlled way. ~Therapist Aid
Depression
The following resource links and activities provide information and psychoeducation about patterns of depression as well as outlines to what extent depression can affect every person differently.
depression-info-sheet.pdfWhat is Depression?
Depression (major depressive disorder or clinical depression) is a common but serious mood disorder. It causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working. Some people experience only a few symptoms while others may experience many. Several persistent symptoms in addition to low mood are required for a diagnosis of major depression, but people with only a few – but distressing – symptoms may benefit from treatment of their “subsyndromal” depression. The severity and frequency of symptoms and how long they last will vary depending on the individual and his or her particular illness. ~nimh.nih.gov
*Worksheet provided by TherapistAid.com
Cognitive Distortions.pdfCognitive Distortions
Cognitive distortions are irrational thoughts that can influence your emotions and responses to situations. Everyone experiences cognitive distortions to some degree, but in their more extreme forms they can be harmful. ~ TherapistAid.com
Click the image to access a list of cognitive distortions that we may internalize or verbalize to ourselves. This information may serve as an awareness tool of what things you may commonly say to yourself that keep you from recognizing the positive things you do and experience.
*Worksheet provided by Centre For Clinical Interventions
Behavioral Activation Activity Guide_updated.pdfBehavioral activation is a technique used in cognitive and behavioral therapies as a treatment for depression. Research has supported behavioral activation as a treatment for depression with outcomes comparable of those to medication. ~ TherapistAid.com
Click the link to access the video above that provides a quick overview of what behavioral activation is, and how it can be used in the course of treatment. Click on the image above to access the additional Behavioral Activation Worksheets after watching the video.
*Worksheets provided by TherapistAid.com