Using behaviour and motion to construct positivity

After we experience a negative emotion, it often makes us feel like we now have no energy and may’t do the things we would like or must do. We may, consciously or unconsciously, be avoiding things that would improve our mood, resulting in a slippery slope. The more things we avoid that make us feel higher, the more serious we find yourself feeling.

A therapeutic tool to re-engage and increase positive emotion is often known as behavioural activation. This involves incorporating more positive experiences into our lives despite what our initial negative emotions tell us (e.g. “I’m too drained,” or “Nothing will change how I feel,” etc.). Imagine it or not, the saying “Fake it until you make it” is true! Say we now have been avoiding socializing with others as we’re feeling it won’t make us feel higher. With behavioural activation, we might try it anyway and assess the way it affected us. As a rule, individuals are surprised at how much engaging within the activity improved their emotions regardless of what their initial mood was telling them. What is evident from research is that increasing positive experiences in our lives, resembling through behavioural activation, is strongly correlated with increased mood and motivation.

Behavioural activation could be used when addressing diabetes. Perhaps we now have been encouraged by our diabetes educator to arrange more home cooked meals as a technique to improve blood sugar control. After we are feeling low this will likely seem unattainable, leading us to make selections that negatively impact our blood glucose and in turn making us feel more disenchanted, and the cycle repeats itself. Using behavioural activation, we will start with small steps. Perhaps if making dinner every night feels too overwhelming, we start as an alternative with prepping healthy snacks to take to work as an alternative of selecting an unhealthy option on the run. After doing this for a while we feel more motivated and our mood improves, leading us to feel as much as cooking dinner twice in the next week, and constructing from there. Alternatively, we will attempt to couple an unpleasant task with a positive activity: so, we make dinner at home after which visit a friend after dinner, as we all know seeing them makes us feel higher. Soon we start to understand that the negative voice in our head may not at all times be right, and doing the avoided activity not only improves our mood but additionally our diabetes management.