Clinical Psychologist | Healthy Relationship Tips and advice

1. All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become. – Buddha Depression Workbook Participant Guide © 2015. Shannon Tran, PhD

2. Leaves on a Stream • Sit in a comfortable position and either close your eyes or rest them gently on a fixed spot in the room. • Imagine you are sitting on a tiny wooden bridge over a gently flowing stream. Your legs are hanging over the side of the bridge until your toes almost touch the water. The stream is flowing away underneath you. • Notice the vegetation around you. Are there trees, flowers, or grass along the bank of the stream? Notice the sounds of the water as it flows beneath you. What do you hear?

3. As you watch the water, notice that there are leaves floating along the surface of the stream, under the bridge and away from you. Notice the shape, color, and size of the leaves as they pass by. • For the next few minutes, take each thought that enters your mind and place it on a leaf, and simply watch as it floats by. Do this with every thought, whether the thought is pleasurable, painful or neutral. Simply continue to watch the thoughts as they float away down the stream.

4. If your mind says, “I’m busy” or “I’m not doing this right”, just place those thoughts on the leaves too and let them pass. Allow them to float away down the stream. There is no need to become attached to the thought. Simply let it go. If a difficult or painful feeling arises, acknowledge the feeling with a thought. Say to yourself “I notice myself having a feeling of sadness/frustration/anxiety.” Now place the thought on a leaf and allow it to float away.

5. From time to time your thoughts may drift away and distract you from being fully present in this exercise. This is normal. As soon as you realize that you have become sidetracked, gently and compassionately bring your attention back to the exercise and start again with placing your thoughts on the leaves and watching them pass. • Practice this for 5 to 10 minutes. This exercise develops your self-awareness into your thinking patterns at any given moment. • Developed by Dr. Briana Carr & Shannon Tran, 2014 adapted from ACT MADE Simple

6. Please complete the following questions about your current needs for improved mood and emotional wellness. • Where are you feeling depressed or stuck in your life? • ____________________________________________________________________ • What thoughts, beliefs, or behaviors contributes to this? • ____________________________________________________________________ • What have you tried in the past to address this problem? • ____________________________________________________________________

7. How much time do you spend each day thinking of your depression? • __________________________________________________________________________ • How much time each day do you spend on creating positive moments? • __________________________________________________________________________ • What do like least about yourself? • __________________________________________________________________________ • What do you like most about yourself? • __________________________________________________________________________

8. When do you feel most productive in your life? • ____________________________________________________________________ • What support do you need to overcome depression? • ____________________________________________________________________ • How will you know when you are feeling better about yourself or your life? • ____________________________________________________________________

9. Healthy vs Unhealthy Belief Patterns • Healthy belief patterns encourage, inspire, support, and empower you. • Unhealthy belief patterns discourage, limit, or disempower you. • Beliefs are what generate our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, actions and outcomes (experience of reality). • We all have healthy and unhealthy beliefs in all areas of our life. The trick is to identify those that do not support you and replace them with those that do so that you can take inspired, proactive, and healthy actions.

10. Current Unhealthy Beliefs About Your Life • What is your desired experience? (i.e. I want to be happy ) • What is your current behavior around this subject? (i.e. isolate, negative self-talk) • What are your feelings about this subject? (i.e. sad, depressed) • What thoughts are associated with those feelings? (i.e. I’m a loser.) • What possible underlying belief would support this pattern? (i.e. I don’t deserve to be happy) © 2014. Sandra Thébaud, PhD and Shannon Tran, PhD

11. Examples of Empowering Beliefs • I accept myself as I am • I am worthy of love • I am valued and appreciated • I respect myself and others • I believe my opinion matters, and I feel heard when I voice a concern • I believe I am fairly compensated for my efforts • I am willingness to change when a more effective solution is offered to me • I know what joy feels like

12. Mind Wellness Worksheet This is an opportunity for you to identify and practice some of your unique strengths. A strength is something that you do naturally well. Research shows that if you practice your strengths on a regular basis, you will not only increase your happiness level, but also build a more satisfying life. Identify some of your strengths. If you cannot identify any on your own, ask a co-worker, friend or family member to help you or go to wwwauthentichappiness.com which offers a free strength finding test. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Which one of your core strengths did you use today? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I encourage you to take your two top strengths and practice them on a daily basis for the next 2 weeks. If any problem or challenge arises, use one of your strengths to either cope or solve it. For example, if patience is one of your strengths, then then think of how patience may help you either cope or solve the problem.

13. HAPI Worksheet • HAPI (Health and Positive Input) consists of 12 activities that have been scientifically proven by Sonja Lyubomirsky, a leading expert in the field of happiness, to raise happiness levels. • Express Gratitude • Cultivate Optimism • Practice Acts of Kindness • Nurture Social Relationships • Develop Strategies for Coping • Learn to Forgive • Increase Flow Experiences • Savor Positive Events • Commit to Your Goals • Practice Spirituality • Take Care of Your Body • Practice at least one or more of these activities on a daily basis to boost mental health levels and promote your well-being. Doing so decreases your vulnerability to depression.

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16. Track Your Progress • Please take some time to periodically track your progress. This gives you the opportunity to check in with yourself, and to make any necessary adjustments. Remember to celebrate your progress, however small, and to show kindness where you may still need improvement. • ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________