The Psychology of Depression and Anxiety - Dr. Scott Eilers Scott Eilers

Psychological testing is not a perfect science by any means - it can have many barriers to entry including cost, access, and availability. But self-diagnosis is not the answer!

This episode unpacks the very real concerns with self-diagnosis. Even when struggling to access professional care, firmly holding self-assigned labels carries risks. Proper differential diagnosis matters enormously for effective treatment.

I don't disparage investigating to understand oneself better. But view potential self-diagnoses as hypotheses requiring rigorous vetting.

I'm going to give you some guidelines for doing that.

Get Practical tools for navigating life with depression and anxiety, delivered weekly.
https://mailchi.mp/90ccaf44c876/self-hope-psychology

My book: For When Everything is Burning
https://bit.ly/forwheneverythingisburning

Organize your day around your mental health goals with Sunsama
https://bit.ly/DrScottSunsama (affiliate link)

The app I use to learn core principles from thousands of nonfiction books in minutes
http://shortform.com/drscott (affiliate link)

Mood Bloom games for depression and anxiety (I have partnered with this brand):

iOS

https://apps.apple.com/il/app/mood-bloom-therapeutic-game/id6449717065?mt=8

Android

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=hedonia.bloom.mood&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1
Connect with me on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.scott.eilers

Therapy with me (Iowa residents only)
http://www.northstarpsychcenter.com/

Work with me (Non-Iowa residents)
http://www.drscotteilers.com/

Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.

But I do care.


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-eilers/support

Most think acceptance means settling for misery. That's not true. Acceptance empowers you to change what matters. It acknowledges some pain is unavoidable - but suffering is optional.

Life has inherent discomforts we cannot control - that's "pain." Trying to force away that pain often backfires, causing more issues. That's "suffering." Radical acceptance separates the two categories.

This video teaches evaluating life's pains objectively. Some are changeable with effort. Others aren't worth the cost of change. Radical acceptance means tolerating unchangeables, focusing energy on high-impact areas instead of fruitless struggles. It's life-changing.

Get Practical tools for navigating life with depression and anxiety, delivered weekly.
https://mailchi.mp/90ccaf44c876/self-hope-psychology

My book: For When Everything is Burning
https://bit.ly/forwheneverythingisburning

Organize your day around your mental health goals with Sunsama
https://bit.ly/DrScottSunsama (affiliate link)

The app I use to learn core principles from thousands of nonfiction books in minutes
http://shortform.com/drscott (affiliate link)

Connect with me on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.scott.eilers

Therapy with me (Iowa residents only)
http://www.northstarpsychcenter.com/

Work with me (Non-Iowa residents)
http://www.drscotteilers.com/

Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.

But I do care.


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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-eilers/support

Emotions are not light switches. You cannot simply turn them on or off just because you (or somebody) would like to.


Being told (or telling others) to calm down, cheer up, or get over it is dismissive and unhelpful. There is no direct mechanism for selecting your emotions.



The biggest problem is that this type of command is outcome based - become x new emotion now. But without a process for changing your emotions you may do more harm to your current emotional state.



I'm sharing with you that process here.

Get Practical tools for navigating life with depression and anxiety, delivered weekly.
https://mailchi.mp/90ccaf44c876/self-hope-psychology

My book: For When Everything is Burning
https://bit.ly/forwheneverythingisburning

Organize your day around your mental health goals with Sunsama
https://bit.ly/DrScottSunsama (affiliate link)

The app I use to learn core principles from thousands of nonfiction books in minutes
http://shortform.com/drscott (affiliate link)

Connect with me on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.scott.eilers

Therapy with me (Iowa residents only)
http://www.northstarpsychcenter.com/

Work with me (Non-Iowa residents)
http://www.drscotteilers.com/

Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.

But I do care.


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-eilers/support

Not all negative thoughts are bad. But constantly thinking about negative things can lead to a downward cycle psychology calls rumination.

Rumination is when we have certain thoughts, memories, or ideas, that get stuck in our brain. And trying to relax, unwind, or think about something else can simply make the thought more ingrained.

There's a reason for this, and it's the reason why doing nothing is actually dangerous for rumination.

Get Practical tools for navigating life with depression and anxiety, delivered weekly.
https://mailchi.mp/90ccaf44c876/self-hope-psychology

My book: For When Everything is Burning
https://bit.ly/forwheneverythingisburning

Organize your day around your mental health goals with Sunsama
https://bit.ly/DrScottSunsama (affiliate link)

The app I use to learn core principles from thousands of nonfiction books in minutes
http://shortform.com/drscott (affiliate link)

Connect with me on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.scott.eilers

Therapy with me (Iowa residents only)
http://www.northstarpsychcenter.com/

Work with me (Non-Iowa residents)
http://www.drscotteilers.com


00:00 The Frustrating Nature of Brain Rumination

02:51 The Impact of Rumination on Mental Energy Allocation

05:27 Minimizing Rumination Through High-Stimulation Activities

08:09 Engaging the Brain to Combat Ruminative Thoughts1

0:45 Directing Mental Energy for Positive Focus


Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.

But I do care.


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-eilers/support

If you're consistently failing at the same thing over and over again, you might be trying to force something that, ultimately, isn't you.When you find yourself in this place, it's time for a total life reexamination: where are you taking yourself and why?This probably feels pretty daunting, but I'm going to break it down for you now.
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCogWI9kVVvmRRPzzQBrOwzg/join

Get Practical tools for navigating life with depression and anxiety, delivered weekly.
https://mailchi.mp/90ccaf44c876/self-hope-psychology

My book: For When Everything is Burning
https://bit.ly/forwheneverythingisburning

Organize your day around your mental health goals with Sunsama
https://bit.ly/DrScottSunsama (affiliate link)

The app I use to learn core principles from thousands of nonfiction books in minutes
http://shortform.com/drscott (affiliate link)

Connect with me on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.scott.eilers

Therapy with me (Iowa residents only)
http://www.northstarpsychcenter.com/

Work with me (Non-Iowa residents)
http://www.drscotteilers.com/

Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.

But I do care.


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-eilers/support

Emotions can be absolutely terrifying; causing total shut down and unbelievable pain.

Despite all that, your emotions are not the enemy of your life. In fact, they can be valuable insight into your present experience. They will only cause you agony when you don't understand your relationship to them.

Approaching them as allies instead of enemies will help you control them and make better choices for your life. I'm going to show you how to do this.

Get Practical tools for navigating life with depression and anxiety, delivered weekly.
https://mailchi.mp/90ccaf44c876/self-hope-psychology

My book: For When Everything is Burning
https://bit.ly/forwheneverythingisburning

Organize your day around your mental health goals with Sunsama
https://bit.ly/DrScottSunsama (affiliate link)

The app I use to learn core principles from thousands of nonfiction books in minutes
http://shortform.com/drscott (affiliate link)

Connect with me on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.scott.eilers

Therapy with me (Iowa residents only)
http://www.northstarpsychcenter.com/

Work with me (Non-Iowa residents)
http://www.drscotteilers.com/

Disclaimer: This content is not intended to be a replacement for receiving treatment. It is purely educational in nature. My relationship with you is that of presenter and audience, not therapist and client.

But I do care.


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-eilers/support