YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Hi!

I'm Val, and I’ve devoted my life to inspiring others to enhance all aspects of their lives and begin to live a life with no regrets. It's so great to be here, and I look forward to interacting more with all of you going forward. Please don't hesitate to reach out if there is anything I can do to help in any way!

In case you want to learn more about me and my story, I'll share my official bio below. I'm so happy to be a part of this great community, and hope to talk to you soon!

Peace,
Valere Groth
Valerie@InspirationWithVal.com
www.InspirationWithVal.com


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"Valerie Groth received her Bachelors degree in Psychology from Indiana University, attended Dominican University where she received her Masters in Social Work, and most recently received her second Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University.

Valerie currently runs a life, career, and business coaching practice at www.InspirationWithVal.comcoaching individuals who come to her from around the world. Valerie loves working with her clients on overcoming fear, gaining self confidence, and making massive positive transformations in their life. She believes that everyone is capable of living an energized and impassioned life, and she loves to make the impossible POSSIBLE.

Valerie is skilled in presenting as a motivational speaker and in facilitating workshops on the topics of recharging and reenergizing your life, overcoming negative beliefs and thought patterns, overcoming fear, goal setting, creating a career that you love, living a passionate life, leadership, conflict resolution, stress management, health and wellness, and rejuvenating relationships.

Valerie also hosts the Inspiration With Val Podcast, which is a top ranked podcast on iTunes that is based on inspirational interviews with individuals from all walks of life ranging from millionaire entrepreneurs to cancer survivors to award winning authors and pro athletes.

In addition, Valerie is spearheading the mission to build Chicago's first boarding school for inner city students . Ryan Banks Academy will open its doors in time for the 2017-2018 school year and seeks to impact the lives of students through a rigorous college and career preparatory education, a supportive boarding program, and a focus on personal development in a positive environment."

Hi Valerie - Nice to meet you - I have a question about if you have coached people who have had recurring bouts of depression and how do you help them through that? I am now at a part of my life where i realize i am resistant to most medications and have to work through the problems of my mood disorder without medications. Can you give me some idea of how you would help someone with depression and be able to motivate them ?
thanks

Hi there,

I'm so sorry for the delay - I thought I was set up to get email notifications about this thread but I guess that didn't work out as planned!

That's a great question, of course it depends a lot on the client but to generalize, I use a lot of CBT techniques. I would always recommend speaking with a mental health professional but if you are interested in learning more, there are some great resources on the web such as these:

http://www.anxietybc.com/resources/self ... oolkit.php

http://www.cognitivetherapyguide.org/th ... ecords.htm

If you're not familiar with CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), it involves "talking down" your negative thoughts, and providing evidence to the contrary. An example would be to use the following ABCDE formula to counter a negative or worrisome thought:

A: Write down the Adversity, the bad problem you are facing
B: Identify any negative Beliefs triggered by this problem
C: Record the Consequence of the problem, how you feel and act as a result
D: Dispute the negative belief, challenge it, think of other possible reasons for the problem: pretend you are playing detective, or arguing with yourself:
What specific evidence do I have for this belief?
-What alternative explanations are there for this recent behavior?
-Even if my belief is true, what are the implications? What is the worst possible thing that can happen? How likely is it?
-What is the best possible thing that can happen, and how likely is it?
-What do I truly and honestly think is the most likely outcome?
-Is this belief useful for me? What do I get out of having it?
Finally, what do I plan to do to address the problem?
E: Consider more optimistic explanations that will Energize you and lift your spirits so that you are less anxious and more hopeful

I hope that helps, and please reach out if there's anything I can do to clarify or answer further questions!

Val