Mindful Eating for Binge Eating, Part 1/4

In this 4 part series, we will share with you information about binge eating and effective tools to begin to heal your relationship with food, your body, and life.

In this first part of our 4 part series, you will learn:

• What is binge eating?

• What is restrictive eating?

• How instinctive eating helps you to balance these two extremes

Overcome Intrusive Thoughts/Postpartum OCD, Part 4/4 - The Exposure Model

In this 4 part series, I will share with you the 4 treatment models for anxiety from Dr. David Burns' TEAM-CBT and how I use them to treat anxiety and intrusive thoughts/postpartum OCD.

This 4th and last part is all about Exposure Therapy.

One piece I forgot to share that could be important before starting exposure therapy is addressing their motivation to let go of compulsions.

I'll have my clients first write out

1) all of the benefits of continuing the mental and physical compulsions (e.g., feel more calm in that moment, lowers my anxiety, helps me to feel like my baby is safe) and

2) the cost facing their fears through exposure therapy (e.g., it'll increase my anxiety and panic at first, it'll be really hard).

Then rate their motivation to move forward with this hard work 0-100, with 100 being completely motivated.

Then they would answer, despite these benefits of the compulsions, and the cost of exposure therapy to let go of compulsions, why should we move forward with this hard work? Their answers to this question becomes their motivation script.

I'll have them re-rate motivation after writing out their motivation script, 0-100. If motivation is at least above a 50%, then it is a good time to move forward with exposure therapy as described in the video.

I’ll have them read their motivation script before exposure therapy and anytime they know the temptation/urge to do compulsions is higher.

Overcome Intrusive Thoughts/Postpartum OCD, Part 3/4 - The Cognitive Model

In this 4 part series, I will share with you the 4 treatment models from Dr. David Burns' TEAM-CBT and how I use them to treat anxiety and intrusive thoughts/postpartum OCD.

This 3rd part is on the Cognitive Model, specifically the tool Double Standard.

Disclaimer: Some content can be graphic and triggering. This content is meant to be solely educational and not to be in place of you seeking professional help.

Follow me on Facebook to catch the rest of the series: Postpartum Therapist - Thai-An Truong, LPC, LADC. Please share with another mom who could benefit from this content!

Overcome Intrusive Thoughts/Postpartum OCD, Part 2/4 - The Hidden Emotion Model

In this 4 part series, I will share with you the 4 treatment models from Dr. David Burns' TEAM-CBT and how I use them to treat anxiety and intrusive thoughts/postpartum OCD.

This 2nd part is on the Hidden Emotion Model, and is often a powerful tool to help clients work through all forms of anxiety, including intrusive thoughts. To learn more about the 5 secrets of effective communication to help you reveal the hidden emotion, listen to Dr. Burns’ Feeling Good Podcast, episodes 65-70.

Disclaimer: Some content can be graphic and triggering. This content is meant to be solely educational and not to be in place of you seeking professional help.

Follow me on Facebook to catch the rest of the series: Postpartum Therapist - Thai-An Truong, LPC, LADC. Please share with another mom who could benefit from this content!

Overcome Intrusive Thoughts/Postpartum OCD, Part 1/4 - The Motivational Model

WATCH THE Q&A SESSION HERE

In this 4 part series, I will share with you the 4 treatment models from Dr. David Burns' TEAM-CBT and how I use them to treat anxiety and intrusive thoughts/postpartum OCD.

This first part is on the Motivational model, specifically with the tool Positive Reframing. In the Q&A video, you will learn:

00:40​ Why we don't hear about intrusive thoughts.

01:55​ What professionals need to know about intrusive thoughts.

02:44​ - What's the difference between postpartum psychosis vs postpartum OCD?

02:20​ - How can friends and family help? www.lastingchangetherapy.com/resources for trained therapists in Oklahoma

06:58​ - How do you respond to the intrusive thoughts without engaging with the content and creating compulsions?

Disclaimer: Some content can be graphic and triggering. This content is meant to be solely educational and not to be in place of you seeking professional help.

Follow me on Facebook to catch the rest of the series: Postpartum Therapist - Thai-An Truong, LPC, LADC. Please share with another mom who could benefit from this content!

3 Tips for Coping with Pregnancy/Infant Loss - Jill Butler, LMFT

My awesome office mate Jill Butler, LMFT shares her personal story with infant loss and 3 practical ways to begin to cope with this heartbreaking loss.

1) Ask a close friend to be your gatekeeper.

2) Tell your story.

3) Connect with other people who have experienced a pregnancy loss/infant loss.

To learn more about her and her services, visit her website at www.jillbutlercounseling.com

Improve Your Mood in Postpartum Depression (Part 3) - The Cognitive Model

Use the cognitive treatment model to improve your mood. Thoughts are powerful and can completely control the way we feel. With cognitive therapy, the belief is that you can change your thoughts, which then will help you change the way you feel.

Here's how you can begin. Make sure you pick up a pen and paper. The power is in the writing!:

1) Think of a recent, specific moment in time when you felt really down and depressed.

2) Rate how depressed you felt from 0-100, with 100 being the worst.

3) Identify the thoughts running through your mind at that time. Ask yourself, what were the thoughts driving my feelings of sadness, hopelessness, depression, etc. (e.g., I'm not making any progress in life, I'm a terrible mother, I'll never get better)

4) Rate how true you believe each of the thoughts are now from 0-100, with 100 being completely true. Engage in the following methods to help you shift your thinking at a gut level. Re-rate how true you still believe each thought after each method. Re-rate your depression after each method:

🔸 Positive reframing - identify what depression is trying to do for you that's positive - e.g., it's trying to let my loved ones know I'm exhausted and need help; it's giving me a voice about how I can't do this alone, it's saying I need a break right now and need to do something different to take care of myself, it shows I care about a better connection with my baby/loved ones, etc. With these benefits, write how much you'd like to turn down your depression so you can keep the benefits and shed the cost (e.g., depression is at 90%, I'd like to turn it down to 5%).

🔸Examine the evidence - write down the evidence for and against each negative thought. E.g., what's the evidence you are a terrible mother, what's the evidence against that? Which evidence seems to weigh more?

🔸 Reattribution - if the negative thought is that your spouse doesn't care about you, write down 6 other reasons why they may be reacting in the current way, and rate how true those other options could be (e.g., he doesn't know how to deal with emotions 90%, he's scared 100%, he doesn't know what to say 85%).

🔸 Let's define terms - ask yourself how you would define a label you're giving yourself (e.g., a terrible mom is someone who doesn't enjoy mothering her kids). Then ask yourself if that is sometimes or all the time. If sometimes, then maybe we're all terrible mothers. If all the time, then maybe no one is a terrible mother, including yourself. You'll see that labels lose their meaning.

🔸 Be specific - instead of a general label of "terrible" or "failure," write out what it is specifically that you're falling short on and how you can specifically take steps to improve those parts of your life.

🔸 Time projection - write a letter from your recovered self to your current self and what you'd like your current self to know at this time.

🔸 Double-Standard - write to a friend who's going through the exact thing you're going through who has the same current thoughts. What would you say to them to challenge their negative thoughts?

🔸 Acceptance Paradox - Re-write your negative statements with acceptance that brings you more peace and joy. (e.g., if the thought is "I'm defective," an acceptance statement would be, "Yes, I am. I have tons of flaws and imperfections, but that's actually what people like about me. It makes me relatable." "Yes, I don't get mother of the year award, but who wants to connect with a mom who is perfect anyway. Those perfect Instagram moms aren't relatable and exists only in fairytales. I have a lot to learn, and that's the best part about me."

🔸 Identify the Distortions - Read the list of 10 most common thought patterns/thought distortions in depression and anxiety, and identify them in your own negative thoughts. Write out why your depressed thought may be distorted. Get the list by entering your email below!

Improve Your Mood in Postpartum Depression (Part 1) - The Pleasure Predicting Sheet

When we're depressed, we often lose motivation to engage in the things we used to enjoy. One behavioral technique to improve your mood is called the Pleasure Predicting Sheet.

With the pleasure predicting sheet, you have to know that MOTIVATION FOLLOWS ACTION, not the other way around. So this technique makes you force yourself to engage in various activities, and you'll get to see that motivation follows action. When you sit around waiting for the lightning bolt of motivation to hit you, it'll likely never come. The more we isolate, the less motivated we become.

But don't take my word for it. Engaging in the pleasure predicting sheet will allow you to see for yourself that you have power over your motivation and mood.

For example, you may not feel like going for a walk, but when you force yourself to do so, you start to get into it after you put on your walking shoes. You may feel even more motivated as you take the first few steps and begin to enjoy the sunlight. Halfway through, you may begin to really enjoy it.

Dr. Burns has generously given me permission to post the worksheet. Access it 

1. Write down at least 7 activities you'll engage in each week for personal growth, pleasure, and/or satisfaction.

2. Write down your perceived satisfaction BEFORE engaging in the activity from 0-100, with 100 being most satisfied.

3. Write down with whom you're engaging in the activities with. If alone then put "self". I want you to schedule a good mix of alone and with others (even if it's just going outside for 10 mins).

4. Level of Mastery measures how perfectly you think you did the activity. This column is a good idea if perfectionism has halted action forward for you. It can help you challenge the thought that you have to completely excel at something for it to be worth engaging in. It can help you get unstuck to see that lower mastery may still create a lot of satisfaction.

5. Write down actual satisfaction AFTER engaging in the activity from 0-100.

6. Comment on what you got from the experiment with each activity. What are new the new lessons learned?

For more ways to improve your mood, read Dr. David Burn's Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. For $5.69, it's dirt cheap for practical ways to alleviate depression and enjoy life again.

Overcome Postpartum Anxiety (Part 3) - The Cognitive Treatment Model

In the cognitive treatment model, we see how powerful our thoughts are in driving our emotions.

Imagine two moms. Both had to stop breastfeeding. One thinks, "I'm so glad for more time to rest and that my husband can help with feedings now." The other thinks, "I'm a complete failure and can't even continue this simple task."

You can see how different their emotional states will be. The first will more likely feel relief, decrease in anxiety, and overall content. The second one will most likely feel inadequate, inferior to other moms, worthless, depressed, etc.

The cognitive model actually has a lot of depth and goes way beyond "positive thinking." When we're struggling in the depths of depression and anxiety, it is not helpful to be told, "just think positively." If we could just turn the switch on like that and stop negative thinking on our own, we would.

With TEAM-CBT, we show you HOW to do this at a gut level. There are also over 50 techniques to shift your thinking and deep rooted beliefs, creating a real shift in your brain and most importantly, improves how you feel. 

I highly recommend completing the motivational treatment model first before moving onto the cognitive model. It makes it even more effective.

❤️ Here's how you can apply some cognitive techniques today:

1) Complete the exercises in the motivational model. 

2) Look at all of your negative thoughts and rate how true you believe each are from 0-100, with 100 being completely true.

Pointers:

• Turn questions into statements to make the techniques more effective (e.g., Why am I so stupid? becomes "I am so stupid").

• Turn feeling statements into thoughts, because feelings are always true, but thoughts can be challenged effectively (e.g., I'm frustrated about motherhood becomes "Motherhood should be easier than this.")

3) Choose one thought in your list to begin to work on.

4) Go through one technique at a time to begin to challenge the thought.

5) It's always a good idea to start with the Identify the Distortions technique. Get a printable sheet that walks you through the 10 cognitive distortions most commonly seen in women with postpartum anxiety and depression. All of our negative thoughts often have almost all 10 distortions. Remember to pick up a pen and paper. The power is in the writing.

6) Straightforward technique: replace the negative thought with a positive thought you believe in 100% after identifying all the cognitive distortions in that thought. Re-rate your belief in the negative thought after engaging in this technique to see if it had power in decreasing your belief. Move on to the next technique if not.

7) Double-Standard Method: Imagine a dear friend is going through the exact same struggle you're going through right now. The unique thing about this friend is they are like you in every single way, with all your strengths, limitations, and experiences. Write back to your negative thought with what you'd say to your friend. Channel your compassion to provide honest feedback to your friend. Your feedback has to feel 100% true and has some power in crushing the negative thought. Re-rate the negative thought to see if it decreased in truth at all.

There are many more techniques, and I'm just scraping the surface here. I'll leave you with these for now to not overwhelm you. Contact me with any questions!

Check out the other treatment models for overcoming postpartum anxiety here:

• Part 1: The Hidden Emotion Model

• Part 2: The Motivational Model

• Part 4: The Exposure Model

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Hi, I'm Thai-An. I'm a postpartum therapist and mother who is passionate about helping pregnant and postpartum parents overcome depression and anxiety so they can feel like themselves again and enjoy life with their baby and family. After overcoming my own battle with postpartum depression and anxiety, I opened Lasting Change Therapy, LLC in South Oklahoma City to dedicate my counseling practice to helping families have postpartum recovery and wellness, and I truly love it!

4 More Types of Scary Thoughts in Postpartum Women

According to postpartum expert Karen Kleinman, MSW, there are 5 types of scary thoughts typically seen in postpartum women. In the previous videos, I've discussed obsessive/intrusive thoughts:

What Are Intrusive Thoughts?

7 Most Common Types of Intrusive Thoughts in Postpartum Women & Men

Watch this video to learn about 4 more types of scary thoughts typically seen in postpartum women. You may relate to one or all of the thoughts:

1. Over-worrying

2. Rumination

3. Intrusive Memories

4. Catastrophic Misinterpretations of Bodily Sensations