Depression is often accompanied by other feelings such as anger, guilt, shame and anxiety. Here are some examples of thoughts you might be having to help you see the difference. with depression. You might be thinking, I'm worthless, the future is bleak. Nothing will change. with anxiety.

It's more like I'm in danger. something bad's going to happen or I won't be able to cope with anger. I'm being disrespected, and it's not fair. I won't stand for it with guilt. I did something bad. I've done something wrong.

This is more about what you've done, what actions you've taken. with shame. It's more like I am better I am wrong. This is more about who you are, or an aspect of yourself. Depression is about not being able to imagine a future different than the pain filled present, or the past. I'd like to share a quote by Mark meepo.

I can't quote it exactly, but it goes something like, there is this place that we all have deep inside of us, that is untouched by trauma and shame. So it's a place that's just okay. What we do know is that if your mind is sort of left to its own devices, it tends to go in certain directions. You can see this in brain imaging studies. It seems like the default state looks very much like shame, self criticism and self judgment. We know that people who are highly self critical, who are never good enough or increased risk for depression.

Depression reinforces those feelings. Now, I think it's important to know that depression can happen to any one of us. It's not just you. In fact, depression can affect one in four of us. And that's without having migraines. So be gentle with yourself if you're suffering with depression, along with or because of repeated attacks.

Different factors make it more likely to happen. These are your biological makeup, your upbringing, our reaction to life events. But what keeps it going is how you deal with those things. The way you think and what you do has an effect on the way you feel. The vicious cycle of depression starts with your thoughts, they become negative, and you seem to get focused on the past. You get self critical and then you just get removed.

Trouble. Now, anyone that believes their negative thoughts can get down and depressed, the body even slows down. You can get tired and feel like you have no energy. You can't get motivated, you lose interest, you just you just slow right down, you can withdraw and become completely isolated. You stay home you cut off from others, you just stop going out. So you can get caught up in this downward vicious spiral.

With cognitive behavioral therapy CBT. You can learn to break the cycle in two places in the way you think, and what you do. So the way you behave and the way you respond. with depression, it's most effective to start with what you do. So change what you do. That's what's most effective.

So CBT teaches you to break the cycle in two ways. What you think is number one, and what you do is number two So, change what you do first, this is what's most effective for depression. Instead of withdrawing and becoming isolated, start to get out more connect with your family and your friends as much as you can. Do more activities you enjoy or used to enjoy doing, get some gentle exercise, even even five minutes to start with will make a difference. It is preferable to get outside and exercise. So once you do your five minutes, you might feel well enough to do a bit more, you might get a bit more motivated.

It's important to learn some coping skills. We'll get to that in a minute. But plan to do things every day that bring you joy. Make sure you recharge your battery with energizing activities. So once you've done that incorporated movement into your day each and every day, then you can tackle changing your thoughts. Now.

I can hear you saying but I get migraines so often. How am I supposed to get out and do things That's why for this module, we're going to do a meditation exercise to distract your mind. But I want to tell you what to do with your thoughts in writing with CBT to challenging your thoughts when you catch yourself starting that negative spiral can be challenging. So if you pause and take a nice deep breath, you can challenge those thoughts. You do not need to believe everything you think you do not need to pay attention to those thoughts. You can shift your focus of attention and notice positives by learning new skills.

Now, to help you do this, just pause for a moment and take a nice deep breath. If you're breathing in fully and especially breathing out fully through your nose, it activates the Vegas nerve in the lower parts of your lungs. This not only error rates your lungs more, but it fires up the parasympathetic nervous system. So each breath is actually a way to restore your body. Now, notice your breathing as you breathe in and out, in through the nose, out through the mouth. And just notice what thoughts are going through your mind.

It might take some practice, but you really can learn to observe your thoughts. So quietly tuning in and noticing where your focus of attention is. Just check in and ask yourself, what is it that you're reacting to? What sensations Do you notice in your body? Is this thought actually true? Is the thought fact or is it my opinion?

Is there a more reasonable explanation? And a really good question is, how important is this right now? Will it be important in six months time? And I think with migraines, it's really important to say to yourself, this will pass Here's some other thoughts you might experience. This will never change. I'm useless.

I'm worthless. I'm pathetic. It's all my fault. I went out last night. I worked too hard. I drank too much or I ate, insert food trigger.

Now, here's some physical sensations you might experience with depression, tiredness, fatigue, lethargy, difficulty concentrating or remembering things. You may have some sleep changes, you might sleep more or less. You may notice some eating changes you might eat more or less. You have a loss of interest in your hobbies, a loss of interest in activities or loss of interest in sex, and reduced self hygiene. Now, what are all of these can affect your behaviors and because of those changes on your behaviors, the tiredness, the difficulty sleep The eating changes, you're draining thoughts, you may start to do less and less and eventually completely stopped doing all the things you used to enjoy doing. This is depression.

You may find yourself staying in bed, isolating yourself from friends and family and possibly making the migraines worse. You're definitely making the depression worse by isolating yourself. Now the best thing to break a cycle of depression is to increase your activities and physical exercise. Exercise is proven to help reduce migraines and it's also proven to help reduce depression. It's a win, win. moving your body is essential.

It releases your feel good endorphins. Just increasing your activity and exercise levels can make an enormous impact on your mood, as it stimulates the body to produce your natural antidepressants called endorphins. Just increasing your activity and exercise levels can make an enormous impact on your mood. It increases your overall fitness, it increases motivation. It decreases tiredness, and it can help improve the clarity of your thoughts. It distracts your mind away from unhelpful thoughts, giving you a sense of achievement.

If you struggle with motivation, a really great tip is to use the five minute rule. commit to doing activity for just five minutes. After five minutes you can choose to stop or to continue and you might find that you want to continue. So it's also important to acknowledge when you're doing well like remembering to pace yourself or doing more of what helps or doing less of what doesn't take some time to say well done to yourself. It can be easily forgotten another thing I mentioned regularly is from reverse therapy and it's about getting balanced variety and fun into your day or into your week. Do something different to what you normally do and see if that makes you feel better.

Make sure you have some different things to do every day. Now I have a really long list of ideas for you. So here they are. Learn to meditate. You can learn mindfulness meditation and mindful breathing techniques. There's a world of different meditations out there for you to learn.

Learn a relaxation technique. Again, try lots of them and find one that really works for you. Put on some music and sing or dance or just listen to some kind of music that helps you feel whatever your desired emotion is. If you want to feel happy, listen to happy music, but avoid sad songs if you're depressed. be of service to others volunteer pray, be with others. Contact Friend, visit family.

Join a migraine support group, talk to someone online or in a chat or in person. Now, Facebook's not really great if you're feeling depressed normally. Unless you already have a migraine group you can trust. Do a grounding technique. Look around you? What do you see?

What do you hear? What do you smell? What can you sense? Try touching two things at the same time. And be aware of the sensations in both places that can really help you get back into your body. And like we've been talking about, get some physical exercise, walk briskly swim, go to the gym, lift weights, cycle, do something, do anything that helps you break a sweat and get out in nature.

You don't have to do that brisk walk, you can just sit in the sun. The sun increases vitamin D, which is a great lift for depression. Just a few more engaging Maybe or some other interest if you don't have one, find one. Google it. What have you enjoyed in the past? What have you thought about doing in the past, but you've not gotten around to yet.

Another idea is to start a journal. We're giving you ideas in this course. But you can just write down your thoughts, your feelings, and get them out of your head. You know, you can use the layer technique from earlier. Another idea is to pamper yourself, get a massage or do something you really enjoy. Do something relaxing, but do something that recharges your batteries.

Use positive self talk. Encourage yourself telling yourself this will pass. It's only temporary. I've gotten through this before I can do it. Now. You can try finding an affirmation that works for you.

Even if you don't believe it, at first, it will leave room for possibility. You can write it down and memorize it for when you need it. It's a great idea to start a gratitude journal. In the morning or before bed, just write down three positive things that you're grateful for, and why this will help retrain your brain to look for positives. And take a time out everyday to visualize yourself doing the things you enjoy, and allow the depression to left. And don't overwhelm yourself.

Just take one step at a time and don't plan too far ahead. That's it for now, you have a CBT exercise in your activity workbook. And we've already covered a similar one in the anxiety section. So we're going to do a meditation to help distract your mind and give you a new way to look at your depression. I just want to say please be kind and gentle with yourself. migraines are a really hard journey.

And I'm sure when you were little you didn't dream of having this debilitating. condition. This condition is not your fault. It's a brain disorder. So just be a kind, gentle teach it to yourself, and we'll see you in the next video. Here's my disclaimer.

I have a master's degree in counseling and applied psychotherapy. I am not a doctor naturopath. The purpose of this course and presentation is to convey information. It should not be interpreted as medical advice and it's not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure your condition, or to be used as a substitute for advice from your physician or other health care professionals. The methods discussed in this program are intended to support health and healing not to replace your medical treatment. Whether you choose conventional treatments, alternative treatments or both, it's imperative that you work closely with your doctor or healthcare professional to properly diagnose and treat your condition and to monitor your results and progress.

Even though I mentioned evidence based supplements, and medications that are proven to help with migraines, anxiety and depression, you must first discuss these options with your doctor. Please treat any supplement as cautiously as any medication. Thank you