Behavioural Activation

    If you read my post on Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, you may recall that I had a not great experience of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for anxiety in my younger days.

    Latterly, it was recommended to me to self-refer to the local mental health service (short version of the story: my general practitioner's concluded my fatigue must be due to depression...  I'm not convinced, but anyways.  I digress).

    My local mental health service offers two things, it seems: Behavioural Activation, and CBT.

    So, I had a 6 week course of Behavioural Activation.  And I engaged with the process as best I could, 'attended' all the sessions (they were by phone), did all the homework (which I fitted around my full-time job).  Etc.

    In short, this 'therapy' aims to take a depressed person and have them reintroduce activities which they've been putting off (both routine and pleasurable).  By doing this a little at a time, it's meant to avoid the 'boom and bust' cycle of doing too much and then being worn out.

    6 weeks of this left me thinking: how is this meant to help someone in my position?  Do I feel that my long-term chronic health condition has (combined with stressful work conditions) given rise to a level of depression?  Yes.  Does my depression doesn't prevent me from working?  No.

    It's the other life stuff that I don't have the time and energy for (household stuff, and going out anywheres).  And a course of BA isn't going to do anything to change that, honestly.  Because mixing up chores with more pleasurable activities is what I've been doing, instinctively.  But I still don't have enough energy for everything.

    At this point, having completed the course of BA, they've referred me for CBT.  And in week 1 the therapist said that BA is really for those whose depression is so bad they can't actually work.  Ah well, nevermind, it was only a waste of a total of 3 hours of my life (not including the 'homework').

    But, I'm really only doing this (and the subsequent course of CBT, too) to appease the doctor's surgery, anyway.  So that they can then hopefully acknowledge that not everything with me is just down to depression.  And do some more investigation.

    I didn't start writing this blog post in order to be negative, though.  I can see where BA could be of use to some patients.  My spouse, for one, if he'd engage with it.

    My one takeaway from BA is the notion of 'lift' and 'drop' activities, as a useful way to remember to intersperse enough fun and pleasurable things in amongst the mundane and routine.  An excuse to take naps!  Now, that I can get on board with!

    I've copy-pasted some links, below, if any readers would like to learn more about BA.

• NHS site (scroll down to read about BA)
• Getselfhelp.co.uk
• Talkplus.org.uk

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