Aggie P

Aggie P

I am an MSci Psychology student at the University of Reading, interested in reducing the stigma around mental health. I am a Mentor on the course Understanding Depression and Low Mood in Young People

Location Reading

Activity

  • Thanks for sharing your reflection on thinking errors with us, Manuela.

  • Nice reflection, Anastasia.

  • Thank you for sharing which piece of advice you will take away from this, Rajiv. It can be really difficult to identify our negative thoughts if we are not used to doing so, but it does get easier with practice.

  • Thanks for reflecting on these situations with us, Jacqui.

  • Thank you for sharing that with us, Maryam - that must have been really tough for you.

  • I agree that it can be difficult to identify depression in others, Christine, and that we should always be mindful of others.

  • Thank you for sharing that, Anamica.

  • Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Jacqueline.

  • Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Nikki.

  • It's great to hear you're feeling off to a good start, Angela!

  • It's great to hear the course has been a good experience, Desha.

  • I hope you enjoyed the final week of the course, Dawn!

  • That's great to hear, John. I hope you've enjoyed it.

  • Thanks for joining us on the course, Amy!

  • That's good to hear, Samantha.

  • Thanks for your participation, Karen - I'm glad you enjoyed the course.

  • It's great to hear you found Ailsa's videos so inspiring, Samantha!

  • Thanks, Steven! It's been great to have you with us.

  • It's great to hear you've learnt a lot from the course itself and from the other learners, Chris. Hearing the thoughts and experiences of others can really aid our understanding.

  • I agree it's a big step, Chris, but that it can be really beneficial.

  • Thanks for passing on that recommendation, Haydn.

  • I'm glad to hear these resources were helpful, Linda!

  • It's great to hear how much you've learnt, Storm!

  • Thank you for that positive feedback, Kim! I'm glad to hear you've learnt so much from the course.

  • Thank you for that lovely feedback, Jacqueline! It's great to hear you feel armed with more knowledge having completed the course.

  • Hi Chris, thanks for your questions. The diagnostic criteria for GAD states that the worry/anxiety is present over a variety of topics, events, or activities for at least 6 months and is clearly excessive. Whilst the content of the worries in GAD can vary from one person to another, to be certain about the diagnosis the individual would be best to seek advice...

  • I'm glad to hear this made sense to you, Jacqueline.

  • Great analogy to use here, Haydn! The aim in CBT is to teach the client to 'become their own therapist'.

  • I agree that this strengthened her commitment, Tom. Writing things down can be a really powerful tool!

  • Thanks for sharing what resonated with you, Lyn.

  • I completely agree that those are key elements of the therapeutic relationship, Kim.

  • I like your idea of the therapist as an 'invisible friend' when out and about, Sol!

  • Some great ideas for behavioural experiments there, Chris!

  • Great summary, Linda, and I like how you've linked it back to the thinking errors we discussed earlier.

  • Lovely summary, Karen.

  • Great summary, Juwairiyyah, and a good idea for a behavioural experiment too.

  • Lovely reflection, Tom.

  • Great idea for a behavioural experiment, Jacqueline!

  • I agree the worksheets are really helpful tools, Tom.

  • I agree that the worksheets are helpful for reflection, Karen.

  • Lovely reflection on how this behavioural experiment worked for Chris, and how it would still have been helpful to reflect on even if he had blushed or become tongue-tied. Thanks, Jacqueline.

  • Great summary, Anamica!

  • That's a really important point, Chris, and motivation can be a very real barrier - this is especially true for CBT as it requires active participation from the client. If they lack motivation, the therapist might use techniques to explore this and weigh up the pros and cons of change before using techniques like the behavioural experiments discussed here.

  • Good point about the balance between risk and reward, Haydn. Ultimately it will be down to the client to decide what they feel comfortable with - the therapist is there to guide, encourage and educate them.

  • Great point that you can still learn something from the experiment no matter how it went, Tom.

  • That's good to hear, Anamica!

  • It's great to hear you are finding the resources helpful, Kim!

  • I like the idea of the decision matrix you use to make plans with your husband, Haydn - it sounds like a similar concept.

  • Exactly, Steven!

  • Interesting point, Iain. I agree that it's important to use non-judgemental language.

  • Great point, Pip - psychoeducation is a really important part of the process. Once we understand ourselves a little better it becomes easier to make changes.

  • It's great to hear you found this interesting, @FG.

  • Thanks for sharing that @FG!

  • Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Leah - that must have been really difficult for you.

  • I like how you've pointed out there, Jacqueline, that even if Chris does blush perhaps it doesn't matter as he was still able to do it. This might be a good area for him to reflect on afterwards.

  • I agree that carrying our the experiment is the hard part, @JMTB, but hopefully this is the truly helpful part!

  • Great summary of an experiment, Rajiv.

  • I agree it can be hard to see things from a different perspective, Beatriz - we often take our own thoughts to be the truth even though this may not always be the case.

  • Great summary, Rajiv!

  • Great reflection, Iulia!

  • Thanks for sharing that reflection, Kate. I agree that this seems to have been really empowering for Ailsa.

  • Hi Chris, thanks for your question. I think it varies from one person to the next in what motivates them, but often it can be really helpful to write things down. It adds a level of commitment about exactly what the person is going to do and when so that they can hold themselves accountable. It also gives them an opportunity for consolidation and reflection...

  • Great reflection, Karen!

  • I agree that the collaboration between Ailsa and her therapist was really helpful, Juwairiyyah.

  • I agree that trust between the client and therapist is really important here, Linda.

  • It's great to hear that Ailsa's input has been helpful, Linda.

  • It's great to hear you enjoyed the course, Angeline!

  • Thanks for your lovely feedback, Haydn, it's nice to know we were able to help guide you through the course! It's great to hear you've learnt so much, and it's interesting that the role of the therapist and how it differs from other therapies will be the thing you remember the most. All the best for the future, Haydn!

  • It's been great to have you with us, Kaysey - thanks for your participation in the discussions.

  • I'm glad you enjoyed the course, Karen!

  • Thanks for the feedback, Juwairiyyah. It's great to hear you liked the structure and the way the content was presented.

  • It's been great to have you with us, Marie-claire.

  • It's great to hear you found the course engaging and informative, Deborah!

  • It's great to hear you liked how the course was presented and that it's been useful, Linda. Thanks for your participation!

  • Thanks so much for the lovely feedback, Kayley! It's been great to have you with us.

  • Thanks for sharing that, Kaysey. It's nice to hear you have an encouraging support network to help you through.

  • Thank you for sharing with us how you can relate to these, Kelly.

  • Glad to hear this was useful, Cat!

  • Good point, Cat, that for someone with anxiety or depression it can be hard to see that there may be others ways to perceive a situation.

  • Thanks for sharing that example, Sheila. This really highlights how something that seems so big in our minds can be so relatable and normal to others.

  • Thanks for sharing what this type of thinking might look like for you, Laura.

  • I'm glad to see this step helped with your questions from the last step, Haydn! As you've rightly pointed out, we all have automatic thoughts and these are not right or wrong. In most people these thoughts are neutral or at least relative to the situation, however in someone with depression or an anxiety disorder they are more likely to have a negative bias....

  • Good point, Lilliam, that we are just trying to see the negative thoughts and look at alternatives, rather than categorising them as right/wrong.

  • Thanks for sharing that, Laura, it sounds like you're learning how to reshape your negative thoughts.

  • Hi Haydn, don't worry if you found this exercise a bit tricky - it can be really tough to notice our thoughts and emotions if we're not tuned in to doing so. I hope as you go through the rest of this week it becomes a bit clearer for you.

  • Thank you for sharing that experience with us, Kelly.

  • It must have been really difficult for you to see someone you love suffering, Sylvia.

  • Thank you for sharing that with us, Anastasia.

  • Thanks for expressing your interest and curiosity about the best possible way to support those in this position, Chris. It would very much depend on the individual person and their situation, and we don’t have the scope in this course to discuss all the various approaches this may entail. The best way forward for the person involved may be to seek advice from...

  • That's a great way to see it, Michelle.

  • I agree that the trust between client and therapist is really important in behavioural experiments, Tom.

  • Thanks for sharing that experience, Karen - that's a great example of how exposing ourselves to a situation can actually reduce our anxiety about it.

  • I agree, Jacqui, that over time this can help the client to reflect on/adapt their own negative thoughts.

  • I agree that it is helpful to do this with the support of a therapist or an impartial friend, Tom.

  • Hi Chris, thanks for your question. Those suffering with their mental health often already feel guilty about the impact of their illness on others or being a 'burden' to their loved ones, so it would not be helpful to make that individual feel worse about the impact they are having on those around them. I notice that you've used the word neglect which is...

  • It's great to hear you've learned a lot from the course, Angela.

  • I'm glad to hear the course was useful, Jan!

  • If you're looking for more courses like this one, Maryam, we're running a course beginning on 16th November called Understanding Depression and Low Mood in Young People. The course structure is very similar to this one, but we look at how depression can affect the lives of children and teenagers and what can be done to help. If you'd like to find out more or...

  • Thanks for taking part in the course, Maryam.

  • It's been great to have you with us, Joy!