Psycho-Babble Psychology Thread 568224

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Atypical depression - what to focus on?

Posted by orchid on October 17, 2005, at 17:11:59

I have a question.

I have previously been diagnosed with atypical depression. Never taken any drugs, and had some therapy but didn't really focus too much on the atypical depression part of it.

Any ideas on what are the general focus points for people with tendency to have atypical depression? I think I have the symptoms - over sleeping, extreme sensitivity to interpersonal rejection, seeking approval of others. There might be more which I am not aware of.

Anybody has any inputs on how to prevent it from relapsing. General ideas/guidance/things to focus on/things to be aware of etc.

I have never been on medication specifically for it, and I don't intend to be on one.

I have a tendency to develop OCD sometimes too - especially when there is a new enviroment. But only thoughts - no actions as of now.

And I am not in therapy, and am not planning to be in one anytime in the future.

So I want to know some tips on taking care of myself.

 

Re: Atypical depression - what to focus on? » orchid

Posted by Dinah on October 17, 2005, at 19:54:33

In reply to Atypical depression - what to focus on?, posted by orchid on October 17, 2005, at 17:11:59

My guess is that if you aren't going to medically treat, or engage in therapy, that symptom reduction would be the main goal.

Let's see. Oversleeping. That one should be easiest because it's behavioral (though I haven't found it easy). When do you tend to oversleep? What keeps you from oversleeping? Do you need the structure of your job to keep you from slipping into increased oversleeping and depression?

Rejection sensitivity and approval seeking would probably be more difficult. When do these things cause you problems? Do you have the ability to step back and realize that you're reacting disproportionately from the stimulus?

For obsessions, I found the most useful thing non-medically was to develop a sense of humor about them. Obsessions hate to be laughed at, and often slink away. When the obsessions are fairly mild, doing things like singing them in silly songs, or deliberately exaggerating them tend to minimize them in my own mind.

That may work for rejection sensitivity and approval seeking as well, come to think about it.

Unless you react badly to teasing yourself. We all have strategies that work for us that might not work well for others. Humor is a knife edge strategy that can go either way.

 

Re: Atypical depression - what to focus on? » orchid

Posted by Tamar on October 19, 2005, at 18:26:59

In reply to Atypical depression - what to focus on?, posted by orchid on October 17, 2005, at 17:11:59

I asked my therapist the same kind of question in my final session and he recommended a book called "Mind over Mood" by Greenberger and Padesky. It’s a CBT workbook and I find it useful when I’m having unhelpful thoughts. You might find it useful…

Tamar


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