What are some of the useful things to know about the experience of anxiety and depression? Can psychoeducation be helpful?

What are ruminations and why might it be useful to take time to acknowledge what thoughts pass through your mind? What are some self-help steps you can take? Alongside my experience working as a psychiatry trainee and the clinicians I've learnt from, these are some books that I think can be helpful:

10 steps to positive living – a very short, easy to read, overview of some core thinking missteps that we all make that can contribute to unhappiness

School of Life – a somewhat more philosophical exploration of life lessons

The Chimp Paradox – a practical, metaphor and exercise based self-exploration tool .

Finally, I mentioned some studies that I read in preparing for this, here they are (feel free to get in touch if you'd like the PDFs): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30738219/ ; https://www.eif.org.uk/report/adolescent-mental-health-a-systematic-review-on-the-effectiveness-of-school-based-interventions

Audio-essay by Dr. Anya Borissova. Dr Borissova is an academic core trainee psychiatrist in the South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust with a special interest in psychotherapy and researching improvements in treating depression.

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