Find information and quotes below, shared here for educational purposes… Scroll to the bottom for a full PDF workbook if you’d like learn more, or use Behavioral Activation (BA) tools.
Behavioral Activation (BA) is a specific CBT skill. It can be a treatment all by itself, or can be used alongside other CBT skills such as cognitive restructuring.
Behavioral activation helps us understand how behaviors influence emotions, just like cognitive work helps us understand the connection between thoughts and emotions.
Behavioral activation primarily emphasizes engaging in positive and enjoyable activities to enhance one’s mood.
The Beck Institute describes BA as a way by which mood can be improved through the active engagement and planning of potentially mood-boosting activities. BA also involves the understanding of an individual’s specific behaviors and the use of specific methods to enable them to overcome avoidance.
One behavioral activation approach to depression had participants create a hierarchy of reinforcing activities, rank-ordered by difficulty. Participants then tracked goals along with clinicians who used a token economy to reinforce success in moving through the hierarchy of activities, being measured before and after by the Beck Depression Inventory. A markedly greater effect on their depression was found as a result of their treatment, as compared to a control group who did not receive the same treatment.
Another behavioral activation approach is known as ACTION (Assess behavior/mood, Choose alternate responses, Try out those alternate responses, Integrate these alternatives, Observe results and (Now) evaluate).
The goal of ACTION is the understanding of the relationship between actions and emotional consequences and a systematic replacement of dysfunctional patterns with adaptive ones. Additionally, focus is given to quality sleep, and improving social functioning.
The ACTION method has clients develop an understanding of the relationship between actions and emotions, with actions being seen as the cause of emotions.
An hourly self-monitoring chart is created to track activities and the impact on the mood they create for a full week, with the intention of identifying depression loops.
When patterns of dysfunctional responding, or loops, are identified, alternative coping responses are attempted to break the loop.
This method is described with the acronyms “TRAP” (Trigger, Response, Avoidance Pattern) and “TRAC” (Trigger, Response, Alternate Coping response).
As rumination is identified as a particularly common avoidance behavior which worsens mood, another common acronym is RCA (Rumination Cues Action).
The client is to evaluate the rumination in terms of it having improved the thing being ruminated about, providing understanding, and its emotional effects on the client. Attending to experience is suggested as an alternative to rumination as well as other possible distracting or mood improving actions.
Behavioral Activation is based on the well-researched understanding that depression often keeps us from doing the things that bring enjoyment and meaning to our lives. This “downward spiral” causes us to feel even worse. In Behavioral Activation we work to reverse this cycle using our actions and choices.
Behavioral Activation involves:
- Understanding the “vicious cycles” of depression
- Monitoring our daily activities
- Identification of goals and values
- Building an upward spiral of motivation and energy through pleasure and mastery
- Activity Scheduling: purposefully scheduling in enjoyable and meaningful activities
- Problem solving around potential barriers to activation
- Reducing avoidance
- Working as a team to make gradual, systematic, sustained progress. Change
doesn’t happen over night! - Using between-session assignments. Practice changes the brain, little by little!
Action precedes emotion! Yes.
We often wait to feel better or more motivated before doing something.
Remember that anxiety and depression come from parts of our brain that are really trying to protect us by getting us to avoid or isolate.
This means that as long as we are following the lead of the anxiety and depression, we will continue to feel less motivated and want to avoid and isolate.
So why activate first?
- Firstly, activating changes our brain state and can make us feel better, right away. For example, exercise can produce “good chemicals” in the brain that lift mood while they are in the bloodstream.
- Secondly, the more that we activate, the more situations we find ourselves in that can give us positive experiences.
The technical term for this is “reinforcing positive context contingencies.” Technicalities aside, we need to “get out there” and give ourselves the best chance of feeling better, even if we don’t feel like it at the
time.
So, when we are feeling anxious and depressed, we cannot wait on the brain to give us the motivation to get out there and do things.
Research has shown that our decision to activate (in other words, to do the opposite of what the depression wants us to do, and do something in line with our values and goals) is necessary for emotions to change.
Get out that pen and paper!
Research shows that people who write things down as part of CBT practice do better than those that try to do it all in their heads. While it does involve more work (and may seem like going back to school), we hope you will give it a try at first, until the skills become more natural.
Use an activity monitoring / time monitoring work sheet… I have shared one here a few months ago, (find it here: half-hour grid for every day of the week download the PDF document here) and there is another version of this type work sheet in the PDF found below.
The next step in Behavioral Activation is determining the behaviors on which to focus to improve our mood. While some behaviors, like exercise and meditation, can be used right away to improve mood directly, many of the behaviors that are likely to help us are those that align with the things that we enjoy or are important to us.
An exploration of “values,” “pleasure,” and “mastery” describe much of the “stuff” that makes life worth living. This process can help us come up with tangible goals to move us toward the things that are most important to us.
Find my list of 333 Values here and get to know yourself better.
Use the PDF below to explore your values, and find examples of activities which may help!
Remember, stay active, find meaning, keep going, make lemonade, practice self compassion, remain inside the Empowerment dynamics, forgive, give grace, and practice. Life itself is but a practice …
Get the entire PDF workbook for free here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NGof8JmpyWPN7bmapp5ApQ7KYWyrVqC2/view?usp=sharing
This is free for you to use, and when you apply it, the outcomes will be priceless.
Work with me or any coach or mental health therapist, or friend, if you feel that having another human and helper will help!
Find more on productivity and bypassing motivation, ending procrastination here http://www.ethanewise.com/motivation-non-motivation-productivity-success-manifest-time-focus-tools-lifehacking-guidance-hypnosis-ethanwisema-books/