People have 60,000 thoughts a day of which 90% are automatic, the rest are voluntary. These are the ones that trigger emotions that, in many cases, prevent us from acting as we would like.
Behavioral Activation advocates that we should not wait until we feel good to act. On the contrary: we should act now to start feeling good.
What is Behavioral Activation?
Behavioral Activation (BA), by J. Barraca and M. Perez, is a therapy for depression that argues that the behaviors of depressed people play a significant role in depression, rather than merely being symptoms of a condition.
The goal? To get themselves to “FUNCTION” despite still feeling depressed.
“When I’m happy I’ll do things.” That’s the mistake: waiting until everything is fine to act. Doing nothing leads to a worsening of mood and thoughts. Thus, a depressed person does not fulfill his or her obligations, withdraws into himself or herself and does not seem to enjoy anything. For this reason, with the help of a specialist in Psychology we must break the “sadness-inaction” circle.
On the contrary, Behavioral Activation aims to put the person back in control of his or her life. It is not a matter of first changing one’s mood and thoughts in order to be well and get back to the routine, but of rebuilding one’s life, even though it is still bad. In other words, “since I am sad I am going to do something rewarding”.
AC therapy has been shown to be just as effective as medication for depression.
How can we fight automatic thoughts?
Thoughts that are not voluntary are the ones that make us suffer and trigger negative emotions. The best way to fight them is not to pay attention to them:
- Paying close attention to something.
- Listen to music or the radio.
- Stimulate touch by touching an object.
- Introduce alternative voluntary thoughts.
In short, DO to stop THINKING.