When someone has low mood or depression, they will lack motivation to carry out tasks that help their mood. They may think when they get motivated, they will do the task. However the problem with this is, that this motivation may never come as therefore the cycle of low mood/depression continues.
As part of the CBT model for treating depression, I would ask the client to keep an activity diary for a week and record their mood after completing each activity. Rating 10 as best for mood, 0 for worst and other numbers as a continuum.
We would then discuss the mood ratings in therapy to discuss what activities were helpful for mood and those not helpful.
There are 3 areas which are known to contribute towards well being- A sense of achievement, activities that give pleasure and ones that create connectiveness with others. Having a sense of well being is known to improve mood.
I would encourage the client in the following week to plan in their diary. helpful activities for mood. However I would encourage small steps. e.g walking for 10 minutes. The idea behind this, is that motivation will slowly increase when activities are completed leading to a rise in motivation. Further activities can be added as the weeks go by.
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