Chapter 6.Behavioral Methods I: Improving Mood, Increasing Energy, Completing Tasks, and Solving Problems
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Excerpt
Low energy, decreased interest in or enjoyment of activities, and difficulty completing tasks or solving problems are common complaints of people with depression. Not engaging in potentially pleasurable or rewarding activities often results in an aggravation of symptoms. A vicious cycle can ensue in which an individual’s reduced involvement in pleasurable or productive activities is followed by a further lack of interest or enjoyment, low mood (feelings of sadness and despair), increased helplessness, or worthlessness. This reaction, in turn, may lead to the individual’s further disengagement in pleasurable or rewarding activities and a subsequent worsening of depressive symptoms. Eventually, a downward spiral may continue to occur until the individual may assume that he is incapable of experiencing pleasure, completing tasks, or solving problems. Patients with the deepest levels of depression may become abjectly hopeless and give up on any attempts to change.
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