Behavioral Activation Against Depression & Anxiety

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

• Behavioral Activation is a way of interrupting the negative feedback loops of anxiety and depression (and other things too, but we focus on those today), and jump-starting better mental health.

  • Whether you want to help yourself or someone else, see today’s main feature for an explanation of how it works, and assorted resources!

• Doesn’t it feel a bit brutal sometimes when the dentist is scraping off plaque?

  • Today’s sponsor, LIVFRESH, have developed a gel that safely dissolves plaque without harming the teeth or gums (this is such an impressive breakthrough that we included a link to the actual science in the sponsor section; check it out!)

Read on to learn about these things and more…

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

10 Ways to Visibly Change Your Body in 30 Days for 2024 (7:58)

Autumn is here (in the video; that's her name) with 10 tips in the space of 7 minutes:

Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

Ready-for-the-New-Year menu:

• 0:27 | Low GL Carbs

• 1:11 | 10k Steps Per Day

• 1:46 | eTRF

• 2:42 | Remove Sweetened Drinks

• 3:09 | 8 Hours Balanced Sleep

• 4:02 | Meals, Not Snacks

• 4:29 | Don't Count Calories

• 5:32 | Coffee, Water, Tea

• 6:18 | Resistance Training

• 6:50 | 30 Grams Protein Per Meal

Want to watch it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖

🏃‍♀️ MAIN FEATURE

Behavioral Activation Against Depression & Anxiety

Psychologists do love making fancy new names for things.

You thought you were merely “eating your breakfast”, but now it’s “Happiness-Oriented Basic Behavioral Intervention Therapy (HOBBIT)” or something.

This one’s quite simple, so we’ll keep it short for today, but it is one more tool for your toolbox:

What is Behavioral Activation?

Behavioral Activation is about improving our mood (something we can’t directly choose) by changing our behavior (something we usually can directly choose).

An oversimplified (and insufficient, as we will explain, but we’ll use this one to get us started) example would be “whistle a happy tune and you will be happy”.

Behavioral Activation is not a silver bullet

Or if it is, then it’s the kind you have to keep shooting, because one shot is not enough. However, this becomes easier than you might think, because Behavioral Activation works by…

Creating a Positive Feedback Loop

A lot of internal problems in depression and anxiety are created by the fact that necessary and otherwise desirable activities are being written off by the brain as:

• Pointless (depression)

• Dangerous (anxiety)

The inaction that results from these aversions creates a negative feedback loop as one’s life gradually declines (as does one’s energy, and interest in life), or as the outside world seems more and more unwelcoming/scary.

Instead, Behavioral Activation plans activities (usually with the help of a therapist, as depressed/anxious people are not the most inclined to plan activities) that will be:

• attainable

• rewarding

The first part is important, because the maximum of what is “attainable” to a depressed/anxious person can often be quite a small thing. So, small goals are ideal at first.

The second part is important, because there needs to be some way of jump-starting a healthier dopamine cycle. It also has to feel rewarding during/after doing it, not next year, so short term plans are ideal at first.

So, what behavior should we do?

That depends on you. Behavioral Activation calls for keeping track of our activities (bullet-journaling is fine, and there are apps* that can help you, too) and corresponding moods.

*This writer uses the pragmatic Daylio for its nice statistical analyses of bullet-journaling data-points, and the very cute Finch for more keyword-oriented insights and suggestions. Whatever works for you, works for you, though! It could even be paper and pen.

Sometimes the very thought of an activity fills us with dread, but the actual execution of it brings us relief. Bullet-journaling can track that sort of thing, and inform decisions about “what we should do” going forwards.

Want a ready-made brainstorm to jump-start your creativity?

Here’s list of activities suggested by TherapistAid (a resource hub for therapists)

Want to know more?

You might like:

• How To Use Behavioral Activation (guide for end users)

• Treatment Guide: Behavioral Activation (guide for clinicians)

Take care!

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Dissolve plaque, without harming teeth/gums

LIVFRESH make some bold claims:

• ❝We have made the first breakthrough in the dental industry since 1914.❞

• ❝LIVFRESH performs 250% better at removing plaque than a market leader❞

The first claim is about using molecular nanotechnology instead of abrasion, to remove plaque. The claim is worded a little strongly, but it genuinely is a major breakthrough.

The second claim... We love randomized clinical trials! So we looked it up, and found it:

Effects of a Dental Gel Over 6 Months on Periodontal Health in Subjects with Stage II and III (Mild and Moderate) Periodontitis

Now, the sample size was small (33), but the results were overwhelmingly positive. And the test group had a worse gingival index than control, before starting—and much better afterwards:

In other words, the competition was stacked against the product, and it still won clear. With this in mind, we're very happy to recommend LIVFRESH's edathamil*-based dental gel!

*That's their patented formula that breaks down plaque on a molecular level, without damaging teeth.

It comes in multiple flavors, so you get two links today:

Peppermint Dental Gel | Wintergreen Dental Gel

If you're unsure which to go for, we recommend the peppermint, as it has fewer ingredients, and is a true gel rather than a foaming gel.

PS: 10almonds subscribers can use code DENTAL20 for 20% off at checkout 😎

Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

🌎 AROUND THE WEB

What’s happening in the health world…

• Coffee and COVID: Study finds coffee inhibits SARS-CoV-2, offers new dietary defense strategy

• Aquatic HIIT improves exercise capacity in adults with chronic conditions

• Swapping animal-based for plant-based foods could be better for you

• What to do when driving skills decline

• Anti-inflammatory medication does not reduce frailty risk in adults with atherosclerosis

• Men experience report less pain when a woman is in charge, research finds (there, fixed the headline for them)

• Life expectancy gap between men and women widens in the US

More to come tomorrow!

📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love – by Sonya Renee Taylor

First, a couple of things that this book is not about:

1. Self-confidence (it's about more than merely thinking highly of oneself)

2. Self-acceptance (it's about more than merely settling for "good enough")

In contrast, it's about loving and celebrating what is, while striving for better, for oneself and for others.

You may be wondering: whence this "radical" in the title?

The author argues that often, the problem with our bodies is not actually our bodies. If we have cancer, or diabetes, then sure, that's a problem with the body. But most of the time, the "problem with our bodies" is simply society's rejection of our "imperfect" bodies as somehow "less than", and something we must invest time and money to correct. Hence, the need for a radical uprooting of ideas, to fix the real problem.

Bottom line: if, like most of us, you have a body that would not entirely pass for that of a Marvel Comics superhero, this is a book for you. And if you do have a MCU body? This is also a book for you, because we have bad news for you about what happens with age.

Click here to check out The Body Is Not An Apology, and appreciate more about yours!

Wishing you a great Sunday that sees you well-prepared for the coming week,

The 10almonds Team