Recap: think, do, feel.
In session one we looked at the vicious cycle. We learned that how you think and what you do affects how you feel. Today we will learn about the easiest way to break the vicious cycle.
Session two: magic plans
To break the vicious cycle, you need to change the way you think or change what you do. Lets start by discovering how to change what you do. Think about one normal thing you want to start doing- we’ve made some suggestions:
Do some baking
Get all the ingredients that you need and plan some time to do some baking.
Meet up with people
Meet or phone your friends and family.
Do some tidying
Do a little bit of tidying so that one part of your home or your bedroom is more calming than before.
Improve your sleep
Try to have a good bedtime routine and get out of bed in the morning.
Go for a walk
Go for a walk, run or cycle ride and feel the fresh air on your face.
Unwind
Setting aside time to relax.
Read the news
Pick up a newspaper or watch TV to get up to speed with what's going on in the world.
Pay the bills
Make a plan to start getting on top of debts and bills
It's hard to start doing normal things again. You need to break things down into manageable chunks. Watch the video to find out more:
None of our videos have sound- you can pause and replay the video as many times as you need until you understand it.
Activity: make your own magic plan
It's time to make your own magic plan. Here’s how to do it:
1. Grab a piece of paper and write your overall goal at the top
2. Think of all the tiny little steps you need to take in order to achieve the goal and write them down in the order you need to do them in. Watch the video again to see how Andy broke down his goal into tiny steps.
3. Look at your first tiny little step. Write down exactly when you’re going to each step and try to stick to your plan. You need to do some of the steps in your plan before next week’s session.
4. Don’t worry if you don’t manage to stick to your plan. If things go wrong, have a think about whether your steps were too big or if there was something stopping you from doing them and make a new magic plan.
Here’s an example magic plan to help you:
Remember these things:
Break things into tiny chunks: Whenever you set yourself a goal, break it down into the little steps and it will become much easier.
Things might go wrong: Even the tiniest steps can be really hard to do. If things don’t go well just take a look at your magic plan and see how you can improve it.
You’re smashing the vicious cycle every single time you do a step on your plan: Remember that the vicious cycle of depression can only work if we don’t do normal things. Every time you do something normal, you’re smashing the vicious cycle and recovering from depression.
Session two Complete!
Here’s your homework:
1. Complete at least one step from your magic plan before the next session.
2. Decide exactly when you’re going to come back for session three and make a reminder, so you don’t forget!