Chemistry for Therapy

Let’s be frank, many of us suffer from mental illness and/or have a mental health diagnosis. I am currently in treatment for Depression (and Anxiety). During one of my Cognitive Behavioral Therapy groups this past week we talked about Behavioral Activation (BA), the employment of action in order to change our emotions. For example, in a depressive state I don’t do my dishes. This feels great in the moment, but makes me feel worse once I don’t have any dishes to eat with, and suddenly I have a week’s worth of dishes to do. My BA would be to put my dishes in the dishwasher after I eat. When I do this, I feel better because I did something to make my living space more organized which gives me a sense of accomplishment.

When I think about tasks that aren’t pleasurable and are a challenge for me, I often have a difficult time just getting started. This is where my science brain (yes, my degree is in biology) went “oooo!!! I have something for this!!!!”. Thus, I remembered a little thing called Activation Energy. This is the idea that in order for a chemical reaction to take place, there is a certain level of energy that must be put in before the reaction can occur. In some cases, a catalyst can be added to the reactants so the Activation Energy is lowered and the reaction can occur faster (please note the actual reaction continues at its normal pace, it just takes less energy to get the show on the road). This, so clearly, seemed applicable to depression recovery. Behavioral Activation gets me going, and for BAs that are really difficult for me, I could use a catalyst to decrease that Activation Energy.

Here a few of my catalysts for things that are tough for me:

For when its hard to get out of bed: start listening to a podcast, call my parents, or listen to ABBA

For when I don’t want to make dinner: try leftovers or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (my favorite easy meal)

For when I’m struggling to clean: set a timer for 10-20 minutes then reward myself afterword with something enjoyable

If you, reader, have any catalysts that help you get going when the going gets tough, please share. I would love to hear some more ideas!