Depression

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-D), there are several depressive disorders. A common thread is the presence of a sad, empty, or irritable mood, accompanied by significant somatic and cognitive changes, affecting the individual’s capacity to function.      

The good news about our kits is that you don’t have to qualify for a diagnosis to use them.  Simply order what you need, whenever you need it, and feel empowered. Each depression kit includes:

  • The Gratitude Jar activity
  • The unMASKing of your Authentic Self activity
  • The Kintsugi Concept activity

The Depression Kit is $57, including shipping and handling, and includes enough supplies to be repeated. Furthermore, if you order 10 or more kits, they are discounted to accommodate therapists ordering for session use, or classroom teachers working on social emotional development in students or staff. Ten or more kits sell for $40 each, and 25 or more are $35 each. 

The Gratitude Jar: Expressing Gratitude

Research shows that gratitude helps to mitigate depression.  Check out this seventeen minute YouTube video from Josie Robinson, author of The Gratitude Jar. 

Like myself, she is a therapist who wanted to share tools that helped her process undesirable thoughts and behavior.  Here is another link to an article written by psychologist Deborah Serani who, herself, battles depression. How Gratitude Combats Depression | Psychology Today. The article is informative and offers helpful suggestions, including an explanation of what the research says about the effects of gratitude on depression. The depression kit contains a brochure that gives more information on how to complete the gratitude jar activity.

UnMASKing Your Authentic Self

Not being your authentic self is abandonment. Or self rejection. Or lack of acceptance to execute one’s unique character traits or expression of values. It is not necessarily being fake with people, but more like not exploring an interest because it’s not the thing to do in your social circle, or people may think it’s out of character for who they assume you to be. Maybe you are quiet, but you’d love to join the theater. Maybe you lack rhythm, but you want to dance!. It’s anything your heart has been beckoning you to explore, but for whatever reason, you’ve yet to act. Maybe family obligations or finances cause you to label the desire(s) of your heart as frivolous. While taking care of necessities is a priority, so is taking care of yourself. You can become a more fulfilled version of yourself, or at least a version that is satisfied with genuine effort towards answering the call of your soul. The depression kit contains a brochure that gives more information on how to complete the unMASKing of your authentic self activity.

The Kintsugi Concept Activity

My research credits Friedrich Nietzsche, a German scholar/philosopher with saying “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” I have found this to be true in my and many of my clients’ lives. It reminds me that there are lessons in the valley and to make lemonade with the lemons life provides. Kintsugi  is a hands-on application of this mindset. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the broken areas with gold, silver, or platinum. Philosophically, the repair becomes a part of the history of an object versus something to disguise. The depression kit contains a brochure that gives more information on how to complete the kintsugi activity.