Beat the Blues

1
Beat the Blues

• Dr. Jane Gallacher
• Refresh Seminar
• Feb 2008

2
The Blues

• Blues is vocal and instrumental music borne out
  of the troubles that beset African-American
  slaves.
• In jazz and blues, blue notes are sung or played
  at a lower pitch than the major scale for greater
  expression.

3
Baby Blues

• The baby blues is a condition that 75-80 of
  mothers can experience after childbirth.
• Wide variety of symptoms which generally involve
  mild depression.

4
Winter Blues

• Winter blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder
  (SAD).
• Affects half a million people in UK between the
  September and April.
• Seasonal mood changes believed to be related to
  variations in light exposure.

5
The Blues

• Feeling down in the dumps.
• Feeling sad or lonely.
• Feeling low in mood.
• Feeling depressed.

6
The Blues

• Experiencing troublesome thoughts, feelings or
  behaviours is more common than you might think.

7
Statistics

• 1 in 4 people experience some sort of mental
  health problem during a year.
• 1 in 6 have depression in a lifetime.
• 1 in 10 experience disabling anxiety.
• 1 in 5 people visiting their GP will do so
  because of depression or anxiety.

8
The challenge

• Mental ill health accounts for 20 of the burden
  of disease in Europe.
• 9 of the 10 countries with the highest suicide
  rates worldwide are in Europe.
• Mental health problems affect 1 in 4 people at
  some time in their lifetime.

9
The challenge

• Much is now known about what works in mental
  health promotion, prevention, care and treatment.
  
• The challenge is implementing this knowledge.

10
Depression

• Sadness.
• loss of interest or pleasure.
• Feelings of guilt or low self-worth.
• Disturbed sleep or appetite.
• Low energy and poor concentration.

11

• Can become chronic or recurrent, impairing
  ability to cope with daily life.
• At its most severe, depression can lead to the
  risk of suicide.
• Most cases of depression can be treated with
  medication and or counselling.

12
Depression

• Emotional effects.
• Physical effects.
• Altered behaviour.
• Change in thinking.

13
Emotional effects

• Feeling sad, guilty, numb or despairing.
• Lose interest or enjoyment in things.
• Crying a lot or unable to cry.
• Feeling alone even in company.
• Feeling angry and irritable.

14
Physical effects

• Poor sleep / early morning wakening.
• Lack of appetite.
• Lack of energy.
• More aware of aches and pains.
• Diurnal variation in mood.

15
Behavioural effects

• Difficulty making decisions.
• Lack of motivation to do anything.
• Not doing things you used to enjoy.
• Avoidance of people.
• Afraid to go out.

16
Change in thinking

• Lack of confidence in yourself.
• Expecting the worst.
• Having negative thoughts.
• Thinking things seem hopeless.

17
Unhelpful thinking

• Exaggerating the negative.
• Overgeneralising.
• Ignoring the positive.
• Taking things personally.

18
Exaggerating the negative

• You make a small mistake at work and fear that
  you might lose your job.
• You jump to negative conclusions and believe that
  they are likely to happen.
• You may spend more time worrying about everyday
  events.

19
Overgeneralising

• One person doesn't get on with you so you begin
  to think "no one likes me".
• One of your many tasks isn't finished so you
  think I've achieved nothing!
• You draw a negative conclusion from one thing
  that happens and apply it generally to yourself
  or abilities.

20
Ignoring the positive

• Focus thinking on negative events and ignore
  positive or good events.
• You can only concentrate on the bit of a good
  piece of work that isnt perfect.
• You can only think about the goal you missed and
  not the rest of the game in which you played well.

21
Taking things personally

• When mood is low we tend to blame ourselves for
  anything that goes wrong.
• An assistant who knows you is 'off-hand so your
  automatic thought is "she doesn't like me ...
  Its all my fault.
• Someone doesnt speak to you and you think I
  must have offended them

22
Helpful thinking

• dont forget in the dark what you know to be
  true in the light.
• there are two sides to every story but not if
  you dont get the whole story!
• you are not the sum total of other peoples
  opinions of you.

23
Worry

• 40 of worries never happen.
• 30 have already happened.
• 12 focus on opinions or situations we cannot
  change.
• 8 concern real problems we can influence.
• Think! 90 of worry is needless!

24
Beat the blues

• Acknowledging who you are
• Healthy Living
• Take time out
• Friends, fun and focus
• Finding meaning
• Know when to seek help

25
Acknowledging who you are

• Get to know yourself!
• Own what you feel.
• Take time to think.
• Ask yourself what do I need?
• How do I move on?

26
Healthy Living

• "A healthy body leads to a healthy mind".
• Take stock of your lifestyle.
• Work life balance.
• Would you encourage others to live life the way
  you do?

27
Exercise

• Designed for activity and physical action.
• Regular exercise lifts mood by releasing
  endorphins.
• Sleep improves with regular exercise.
• 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times/week
  e.g. brisk walk or swimming.

28
Diet

• Irregular meals blood sugar variations making us
  more prone to mood swings.
• Concentration can be affected by hunger, and it
  can cause irritability.
• Eating regularly and sensibly gives more control
  over our mood and behaviour.

29
Time out

• Find a way to unwind
• Thinking time - space - exercise
• Write it down - list - journal
• Talk it through - good to be heard
• Problem solving and advice

30
Friends, fun and focus

• Make time for friends / family
• Avoid isolation
• Dont let life get out of focus
• Be aware of your needs vs demands
• Make time to enjoy life

31
Finding meaning

• Finding solutions can involve looking at the
  bigger picture.
• Valuing who you are is vital.
• Owning a sense of purpose helps.

32
Spirituality and Religion.

• Sometimes, life experiences lead us into deeper
  issues of meaning.
• Why are we here?
• Why did my relative/friend die?
• What is my life purpose?
• What happens after death?

33
Spirituality and Religion.

• Searching deep questions can lead us on a
  fruitful journey of discovery.
• A helpful practice to deal with emotional issues
  is mindfulness. (awareness of yourself and God in
  the present).
• It may help to read books or visit faith groups
  to get a "taster" of their practice and beliefs.

34
Truths and Myths

• Only weak people need to ask for help T/F
• Real men cope alone T/F
• 1 in 6 of us will be affected by depression in
  our lifetime T/F
• Prevention is better than cure T/F

35
Know when to seek help

• Feeling?
• Low
• Worthless
• Tired and irritable
• Hopeless
• Suicidal

36
Moodjuice

• Designed to help you think about emotional
  problems and work towards solving them.
• Each of these areas has a set of links relating
  to it, providing useful information and guidance.
• www.moodjuice.scot.nhs.uk