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Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

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Re: Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

#11

Post by Zelphyr »

While I'm not a psychologist my reading of that seems to confirm one of the aspects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which is to clarify ones values and work towards them.

For example; it might be one's goal to travel to another country but they are afraid of flying. Traveling is a goal/value thus they would work towards accepting the presence and sensations of the fear of flying in order to achieve that goal. That's a greatly simplified description of ACT but you get the gist.

Re: Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

#12

Post by qppo »

johnfn wrote: post #4
GaylordTuring wrote: post #3

Or the act of fending off depression, anxiety, and panic disorders can positively influence perseverance toward life goals. That’s a just as valid conclusion from the data.

Yeah, absolutely. > participants were asked to rate their goal persistence (e.g., “When I encounter problems, I don’t give up until I solve them”), self-mastery (e.g., “I can do just anything I really set my mind to”) and positive reappraisal (e.g., “I can find something positive, even in the worst situations”). Diagnoses for major depressive, anxiety and panic disorders were also collected at each interval. > People…

I think causal links are hard to come by in any science, but here the important tidbit is that particular emotions (perseverance towards ones goals) were correlated with less incidence or severity of disorders, compared to others (a feeling of control of ones environment/future).

The value here is that showing the existence of an emotion earlier in ones life is correlated to lessening of symptoms later is that it helps therapists know which emotions and behaviors to target during long term treatment like cognitive/behavioral therapy.

At least that's how I read it, I'm not a professional

Re: Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

#13

Post by maybelsyrup »

Zelphyr wrote: post #11

While I'm not a psychologist my reading of that seems to confirm one of the aspects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which is to clarify ones values and work towards them. For example; it might be one's goal to travel to another country but they are afraid of flying. Traveling is a goal/value thus they would work towards accepting the presence and sensations of the fear of flying in order to achieve that go…

I'm a therapist, and I'm also an ACT practitioner. You're on the money here, though I'd encourage you to think even bigger. To use your example about travel: extend it further. In ACT, goals and values couldn't be more different, and we spend a lot of time helping patients distinguish between the two. "Traveling" is a goal - the value would be found in "why travel?", what does it get you?

If the answer to that is then something like "it gets me a sense of adventure", then the "value" (as defined in ACT, anyway) might be just that: you want to live adventurously, and traveling is a "goal" that you believe, at least for now, can bring you a little bit of that. In fact, one of my favorite ACT exercises is finding adverbs that fit these ideas, because adverbs cannot be "attained" like goals can. That's the whole problem with goals, in fact, that leads indirectly to a lot of pain: goals can be attained.

ACT is lovely, but I'm biased. If you have any questions please ask!

Re: Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

#14

Post by _y5hn »

Swizec wrote: post #9
cc_ashby wrote: post #7

But what are you sacrificing in return for your “perseverance”? Very few people tend to look at the mind as a system, and also seem to ignore that depression, anxiety, panic disorders, etc. happen for a reason. The reason why modern humanity have increased risk of these symptoms is because they know, given their perhaps wrongly learned models of the world or otherwise, that even when they achieve their so-called life…

Reading Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning has been the best thing I ever read on this topic. Changed my whole perspective. The tldr version goes something like: “Meaning is irrelevant, but humans need meaning to live. Pick any meaning you want. Doesn’t matter what, just choose something. Then go for it with all your might. If you ever find it wasn’t a good meaning, pick a new one. You’re a different perso…

Let's say one was caged in an unbreakable cage. Depression, anxiety, loneliness and boredom, would be natural reactions to such confinement. One could even say any opposite reactions wouldn't be fully human, something would be amiss. Being repressed and unable to do anything about it, often lead to depression and anxiety then. These things are sneaky, especially what is not readily visible to the eye.

Now, even though depression and anxiety can have many causes, including the individual itself and one's reactions. We know humans and living beings need physical and mental stimulation. Thus activities such as dancing, singing, whatever would activate joy, can help break bad spells. We don't know beforehand either, what we could have capacity to enjoy, so should seek out diverse experiences and people with an open mind.

Such tools may help to uncover a person's life's purpose. To find meaning, we need tools and other people as mirrors. We may even need to experience stuff we later actively decline, for many different reasons.

Thinking too much or one's attitudes, can hamper and limit much more than a person might realize. It's easy to miss out of one own's life, by comparing and vying for other people's lives. Also even though one would be totally miserable with another's plights!

So it is there, in-between activation and purpose, one need the reminder, that the purpose is not the end result. That life's not a journey. We alone judge good and bad, while life just is as it is regardless what we think and feel in each moment. Letting go of the destination and many concepts, we can realize it doesn't matter who is fully realized and perfect. That life happens perfectly every moment regardless, and that those who tell others what their meaning is, is full of * * * *.

Re: Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

#15

Post by rashkov »

Swizec wrote: post #9
cc_ashby wrote: post #7

But what are you sacrificing in return for your “perseverance”? Very few people tend to look at the mind as a system, and also seem to ignore that depression, anxiety, panic disorders, etc. happen for a reason. The reason why modern humanity have increased risk of these symptoms is because they know, given their perhaps wrongly learned models of the world or otherwise, that even when they achieve their so-called life…

Reading Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning has been the best thing I ever read on this topic. Changed my whole perspective. The tldr version goes something like: “Meaning is irrelevant, but humans need meaning to live. Pick any meaning you want. Doesn’t matter what, just choose something. Then go for it with all your might. If you ever find it wasn’t a good meaning, pick a new one. You’re a different perso…

I think Frankl’s is a more humanist version of that, in which meaning comes from service and obligation towards others.

Re: Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

#16

Post by Aperocky »

nickff wrote: post #10
cc_ashby wrote: post #7

But what are you sacrificing in return for your “perseverance”? Very few people tend to look at the mind as a system, and also seem to ignore that depression, anxiety, panic disorders, etc. happen for a reason. The reason why modern humanity have increased risk of these symptoms is because they know, given their perhaps wrongly learned models of the world or otherwise, that even when they achieve their so-called life…

Perseverance often leads to a type of pseudo-meditation. When you work very hard towards a goal such as weight loss through exercise, you have to focus on one thing, and this can be almost meditative. This is one reason people find things like running or swimming to be 'relaxing', even though they're also 'tiring'.

I don't have a reference but I read exercise generate dopamine and that's what gets people to like them.

Re: Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

#17

Post by aurbano »

maybelsyrup wrote: post #13
Zelphyr wrote: post #11

While I'm not a psychologist my reading of that seems to confirm one of the aspects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which is to clarify ones values and work towards them. For example; it might be one's goal to travel to another country but they are afraid of flying. Traveling is a goal/value thus they would work towards accepting the presence and sensations of the fear of flying in order to achieve that go…

I'm a therapist, and I'm also an ACT practitioner. You're on the money here, though I'd encourage you to think even bigger. To use your example about travel: extend it further. In ACT, goals and values couldn't be more different, and we spend a lot of time helping patients distinguish between the two. "Traveling" is a goal - the value would be found in "why travel?", what does it get you? If the answer to that is the…

That sounds really fascinating! Could you give more examples of those adverbs, or ACT in general?

Do you apply it in your own life, and if so, how? (If you don’t mind sharing!)

Re: Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

#18

Post by nickff »

Aperocky wrote: post #16
nickff wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perseverance often leads to a type of pseudo-meditation. When you work very hard towards a goal such as weight loss through exercise, you have to focus on one thing, and this can be almost meditative. This is one reason people find things like running or swimming to be 'relaxing', even though they're also 'tiring'.

I don't have a reference but I read exercise generate dopamine and that's what gets people to like them.

That’s also true; it’s commonly known as a “runner’s high”.

Re: Perseverance Toward Life Goals Can Fend Off Depression, Anxiety, Panic Disorders

#19

Post by rkhassen9 »

Swizec wrote: post #9
cc_ashby wrote: post #7

But what are you sacrificing in return for your “perseverance”? Very few people tend to look at the mind as a system, and also seem to ignore that depression, anxiety, panic disorders, etc. happen for a reason. The reason why modern humanity have increased risk of these symptoms is because they know, given their perhaps wrongly learned models of the world or otherwise, that even when they achieve their so-called life…

Reading Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning has been the best thing I ever read on this topic. Changed my whole perspective. The tldr version goes something like: “Meaning is irrelevant, but humans need meaning to live. Pick any meaning you want. Doesn’t matter what, just choose something. Then go for it with all your might. If you ever find it wasn’t a good meaning, pick a new one. You’re a different perso…

Huh. I didn’t get that synopsis at all from Frankl’s book, “Mans Search for Meaning” it’s been a long time, maybe I need to re-read, but what I got was “you may not be able to change what happens to you, but you can change how you respond to it, and this gives you power”
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