Good news–you’re 1/3 of the way through the Daily Shoring tips!  I hope you’re working on something each day–remember that daily commitment is key in building healthier habits and moving out of a rut or depression.

Here are a few smart phone apps which can help build healthy habits and emotional well being:

Tap & Track for Diet and Exercise

Gratitude Diary

Headspace–A Mindfulness Meditation App

Below is the same pep talk I gave you after day 10; read through it again if you need motivation.  For today, choose one of the tasks from the past month to repeat and build upon.  Congrats on completing the first month of Daily Shoring!

If there are days you haven’t actually completed a task (I assume you’re at least reading the tips on a daily basis!), let’s look at common pitfalls:

• “Seems easy–I’ll do it later.”  Fine, if you make a habit of following through on things.  If things fall through the cracks then build a habit of reading Daily Shoring at the same time each day and completingsomething right then.  You can always go back later and repeat a more challenging version of the suggestion, but don’t get sidetracked by your ambition/procrastination.
• “I don’t see how this will help.”  Okay, but do it anyway.  There’s no downside here and second guessing just keeps you stuck.
• “I’m too busy.”  These tasks take so little time (the easy versions) that they almost take no time at all!  Some tips are really just thinking–take “Target One Bad Habit” and let’s say you decided to avoid overeating at dinner.  You think and change a behavior, but it actually takes no time from your day!  Just do it!
• “I’m too depressed; I have no motivation.”  I know depression can be so bad that it’s debilitating.  But that’s one of the purposes of this blog–when you’re so depressed that you can barely function, you need to do at least one positive thing each day (and it doesn’t require a lot of time or sustained effort–see above!).  Most people have heard of cognitive behavioral psychotherapy–one of the most researched and effective psychotherapy methods for depression.  The cognitive part has to do with changing maladaptive thought patterns (if you want to know more, read The Feeling Good Handbook by David Burns).  The behavior part is up to you (along with your therapist, if you have one).  This is where most people struggle, but it’s a vital component.  You have to act the way you would act if you were not depressed in order to help yourself become un-depressed!  I admit, it’s more complicated and nuanced than that, but for the purposes of a blog, that’s the best way I can put it.