Washing dishes in depression

Washing dishes or making coffee: simple but deliberate activities can dispel brooding.

11/09/2012

Simple life activities can relieve depression. Mindfulness exercises can help, „To see the experience neutral“, like Prof. dr. Sabine Herpertz of the German Society of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Neurology (DGPPN) in Berlin explained. The exercises help to drive away depressive thoughts.

If depressives experience something nice or positive, they often rate it negatively. However, special mindfulness exercises can help to keep the experience neutral. Patients with mental illnesses could better control their negative feelings and increase their ability to concentrate, according to the psychiatrist.

Simple mindfulness exercises
Simple, but consciously performed activities such as washing dishes or cooking tea can already drive away depressive thoughts. „Exercises are simple household activities“, reports Prof. Herpertz. In addition, obviously meaningless activities can be performed. As an example, the expert named „trying to stand upright a raw egg“. At the same time, those affected should try to concentrate exclusively on the egg. All other thoughts should be in this exercise „be pushed aside“. This can make it easier to become less involved in daily thought patterns or musings.

Anyone starting with these mindfulness exercises should plan to spend a few minutes each day at the beginning. It is important to carry out the exercises continuously. (Sb)

Picture: S. Hofschlaeger