DailyStrength.org
The DailyStrength.org website was recently mentioned in the Yahoo! Depression-Anxiety Group as a decent online support group. Someone did complain that their information they posted on their DailyStrength.org personal home page was publicly searchable with Google. I just barely registered for the service, so I haven’t verified the claim of the Google search. After I have spent some time with the service, I will post a review.
Web-based Self-Help
have been finding a number of self-help websites that help people deal with depression and anxiety. Here are a few of them:
- MySelfHelp.com
- I highly recommend this interactive self-help tool that uses cognitive behavioral therapy to assist the user in dealing with his problems. I’ve been using it now for a month, and it has already helped me improve my sleeping patterns. The depression section is good, but it doesn’t seem to be as well developed as the “Conquer Insomnia” section. There is a journal, sleep diary, calendar, medicine tracker, depression log, stress table, and many other interactive tools.
- Robert F. Sarmiento’s Cyber Psychologist
- This site has some helpful information, but seems to contain the standard helps found elsewhere. It is a completely non-interactive website. Even so, I really found the section on Therapy Goals to be very useful.
My symptoms for depression
- More physical pain than normal – excessively massaging my arms and legs to attempt to relieve the pain
- Lack of focus and concentration
- Fatigue
- Stay up really late before the big crash
- More irritable
- Cry easier
- Moody
- Difficulty making decisions
- Can’t sit still or don’t want to move in extremes
- Stay in bed
- Avoid work
- Avoid people
- Stay awake at night and sleep during the day
- Want to spend money, eat, or do something to avoid or ignore the issues
- Lack of interest in my spouse
- Retreat into my shell and avoid any intimacy
- Don’t want to have conversations
- Difficulty thinking deeply
- Deadening of emotions
- Lack of pleasure
- Lack of motivation
- Easily frustrated with difficult tasks or complex decisions
I sleep less than I thought
For the past several months, I have kept a record of my sleep habits using the Alertness Diary. I can’t believe how little sleep I actually get and how little time I actually spend in bed. I seem to generally get between 5 and 7 hours during the week, and then on the weekend, I am so tired that I need to sleep a lot to pay the accumulated sleep debt. I definitely need to improve my sleep habits.
Combined with my severe sleep apnea, I don’t get much sleep at all.
Cognitive Therapy vs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
What’s the difference between Cognitive Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy other than the word in the middle? Obviously, there must be some action involved in order to be behavioral. What are the differences?
MySelfHelp.com
For the past month I have been using MySelfHelp.com. It seems to be a good resource on depression and on conquering insomnia. I recommend it.
Emotions Anonymous
A few days ago, I discovered the website for Emotions Anonymous. I wonder how effective such a group therapy like this is for a person dealing with depression. Can the 12 steps help? I suppose if the person has hurt others, the organization might very well help. If the depression is completely internal, I am not sure. I suppose if the depression was also expressed in anger, then it would seem effective. Maybe I’ll attend a local meeting to see if it could help me. I am willing to experiment and discover other forms of therapy that could help.
Sleep Problems
I am having problems with my sleep. Not only do I not want to sleep, but when I do sleep, I don’t get quality sleep. I now know why. Last month, I went to a sleep clinic and had a polysomnogram. I was actually diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. I even have problems with central sleep apnea. Normally, I would go into the sleep clinic again and have for a CPAP titration, but a month ago, I had nose surgery. I have to wait until my nose fully heals before I can get the CPAP. In the mean-time, I must wait and remain sleepy. At least my primary care physician prescribed Provigil, so I don’t fall asleep behind the wheel on my 45 minute drive to work. I’ve had too many close calls that scared me silly. I am glad I’ve never been in a wreck due to falling asleep at the wheel, but I’ve come close.
I firmly believe that this sleep apnea is the cause of my rapid cycling of depression. My lack of sleep tends to coordinate with my depression cycles. The antidepressants seem to handle most of the major long-term depressions, but these rapid cycles typically last a couple of days and then go away.
Single-Mindedness
I was talking to my wife today and realized that when dealing with issues, I am rather single-minded. I can’t deal with more than one problem at a time. It’s hard for me to focus on both my health and my spirituality, while my health is a primary concern. Unfortunately, this means that my spirituality suffers. I wish I had the capability to deal with some of both simultaneously. Maybe its possible, but I haven’t found a way yet.
When I have too many things going on, I feel out of control. I get stressed. I get depressed. The spiral gets worse.
Maybe I need to trust God more and let him help me deal with depression and my health. Then I may be able to work on both at the same time. Hmmm…. This might be the answer.
