Overcome Depression with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Welcome to the Online Course Beating Depression. This course is designed to help you overcome depression and help you manage its symptoms.

My name is Aaron Lerch MSc. and I have collected the many of the best interventions coming from a range of therapeutic modalities to help you overcome depression.

Feel free to say 'hi' in the Q&A with a little introduction.

I am happy to have you onboard and look forward to see you get better :-)

In this lesson, we will discuss the main symptoms of depression and the different types of depression.

What are your symptoms of depression? Which type do you think you have?

Willing to share on the platform?

In this lesson we discuss all kinds of depression symptoms.

Causes of Depression:

Several causes are highlighted in this lesson. Finally I mention the view of depression as I see it - a form of grief.

Do you connect with this view? Do you feel that you are ultimately grieving something? That you feel disconnected from something that you would like to be more connected to?

There are two self-scoring tests that we use in this program.

Go ahead and get a score on both tests. If you have any problems with filling in, reach out for support here and we will gladly help.

In addition, if you wish, share your findings with other group members and support each other :-)

The first test can be found here:

Google: 'mental health America Depression Test'. The first result is the one.

The second test is attached in this lesson.

In this lesson I am addressing the obvious - you need motivation to follow through with the steps of this program. There are days when you feel like it, but there are days when you just don't.

Feel free to talk about it here so we can support you through the tougher days.

In this lesson I talk briefly about medication and a small example of how your thoughts can influence your mood. Aaron Beck developed CBT and much of this program hinges on that model of psychotherapy.

Do you think that your thoughts influence your mood?

Different interventions are suitable for different people which is why we try to cover many interventions in this course

In this lesson, I start talking about the need that we have for healthy fats and mostly Omega 3's.

Here are some more details about the Omega's such as dosage, where you could purchase them and what to do about the fish oil burping problem.

It is both, a symptom but it also intensifies the depressive feelings, especially if the nature of the thoughts are of a negative tone and topic.

In this lesson, I talk about how to create a plan to stop ruminating.

Make sure to also make use of the downloads in this lesson:

Stop Ruminating form 1.0

Stop Ruminating form 2.0

Activity List

Exercise is known to have incredible anti-depressant effects. And yet, it is difficult to do. In this lesson this is addressed. In addition, specific details of frequency, aerobics and how to exercise is discussed.

Please make use of the chart in the downloads, in order to verify what the 75% of max heartbeat would be for you given your age.

Naturally, check with your doctor if this regimen is safe for you.

Bright light is something that most of us miss during the winter months and it is vital for our mental health as explained in this lesson. A simple solution is suggested for getting enough day light.

In the coming lessons we will be digging deep into your ways of thinking and behaving and see how those may contribute to depressive symptoms and how to change them.

See you there :-)

In this module we start with the real CBT work which is working with the depressive thinking and feelings.

There is a lot of material in this section but don't worry - I am here to guide you through it step by step:-)

In this lesson you will learn the difference between Rationale Mind and Compassionate Mind. You will use both in order to deal with Depressive thinking.

See the download to help you take note of your compassionate thoughts.

In this lesson you will learn about Examining the Evidence which is one of the basic CBT techniques of how to approach our thinking.

See the download sheet that can help you with writing down the evidence on both sides of a thought.

Time to learn how to challenge your thinking.

With a list of questions at hand, you will never run out of useful ways of turning your thinking around :-)

See the download file for all the questions.

In this lesson you will learn all about Depressive Thinking Traps. Once you identify those, it becomes even easier to make use of the Challenging Questions to help you change your thinking.

See the download 'Bringing it all together' which will help you make use of everything covered in this module.

In this module we start to look at essential needs that you might have become disconnected from.

In this lesson we look at the impact people want to make in the world with a specific focus on your work environment.

We are wired for connection and attachment. This is a very basic principle of psychology and humanity.

Depression can be caused by a disconnect with other people but it also works the other way round. When you are feeling down, you may not want to connect with others.

But that is exactly what might help you through these feelings.

This is further discussed in this lesson.

Connecting to values is something that many in today's society have forgotten to think about.

In this lesson an important distinction is made between intrinsic and external goals/values.

There is a beautiful gift out there waiting for you:-) It is called 'Nature'.

In this lesson I point to two powerful and interesting pieces of research indicating the value and anti depressant effects of mother nature.

Childhood wounds or ACE's are highly correlated to depression in adulthood. I discuss these ACE's with a powerful recommendation for inner healing.

A technique per day lesson. This lesson will give you one technique to practice every single day in order to BUST your depression.

Discussion about the most commonly prescribed medications.

Contact your doctor for further information.