Lesson 555: Psychotherapy for Reactive Depression
Duration:75 minutes
Topic Introduction (Overview):
Reactive depression is not an "inner defect," but rather a rapid emotional response to external stimuli, stress, relational conflict, or accumulated trauma. Compared to typical depression, reactive depression is more easily triggered by environmental factors, exhibits more pronounced mood swings, and its recovery is more dependent on the support system. This course will introduce some of the most effective psychotherapies currently available, including Emotion Regulation Training (ERT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Attachment Repair Approach (AFT), Mindfulness-based Therapy, and Internal Systems Integration (IFS).
The goal of these treatments is not to suppress emotions, but to help you understand why you "react so quickly" and why certain emotions, though seemingly exaggerated, have deeper meaning. You will learn how to shift from "reflexive emotions" to "understanding emotions," from automatic reactions to conscious choices, establishing a reliable and sustainable recovery path for emotionally reactive depression.
[arttao_Healing_Course_tts_group347_351]
▲ AI Interaction: Choose the Treatment Method That Suits You
Please enter: ① Your most troubling reactive emotion; ② Your typical triggering situation; ③ The direction you hope to improve.
AI will assist you:
① Select the most suitable treatment pathway from the five main treatment approaches;
② Explain the mechanism of action of each treatment in "reactive depression";
③ Generate your own "treatment priority map";
④ Provides two micro-actions you can practice immediately;
⑤ Generate a "Statement of Mindset for Treatment".
○ Music-guided exercises for a gentle landing of emotions
Choose soft, spacious music (piano or strings).
When playing, please focus on the feeling of "emotional grounding":
Inhale: Feel the emotion rise from your chest, but there's no need to explain it.
Exhale: Let the music, like a slowly falling leaf, gently set aside your emotions.
The first step before experiencing therapy is to let your emotions know that they are allowed to exist.
○ Chinese Tea Therapy: White Tea and Jasmine Soothing Tea
Recommended reasons:White tea is refreshing and calming, while jasmine tea soothes and relieves stagnation, making it a gentle beverage that balances rapid reactions caused by external stimuli. It is suitable as a mood-stabilizing tea before psychotherapy.
practice:Steep 3g of white tea and 1g of jasmine flowers in 85°C water for 2 minutes. Let the aroma diffuse gently, symbolizing giving yourself some buffer time before treatment.
○ Chinese Taoist Traditional Chinese Medicine Diet Therapy: Jujube Seed and Amber Soothing Porridge
Jujube seeds have a calming effect, and amber powder soothes the mind. When combined with millet or glutinous rice, they can help emotions gradually return to the body from a state of heightened tension.
Taoism believes that "when the mind is disordered, the spirit departs; when the spirit is calm, the vital energy returns."“
This porridge not only stabilizes emotions but also provides a more stable physical foundation for healing, making psychotherapy easier to absorb.
○ Western Modern Calligraphy · “Healing Is a Path”
Practice sentences:
Healing is a path.
- “Healing” uses gentle curves to symbolize the fluidity of treatment.
- “The phrase "Is a" is deliberately shortened to create a pause in the rhythm, signifying "allowing for slowness".
- “The last stroke of "Path" extends outward, symbolizing that healing is a journey towards the future.
- While writing, silently repeat to yourself: I am moving towards a better place, instead of being dragged down by my emotions.
Mental Healing: Mental Mandala Imagery 49
Draw a slowly expanding ray of light at the center of the mandala. It is neither as taut as a flame nor as heavy as a shadow, but rather quietly extends outward.
A mandala is not about drawing something, but about observing it.
Observe how your emotions gradually transform from sharp reactions to gentle awareness;
Watch how you go from being "led by your emotions" to "being able to walk with your emotions".
Each circle of light represents a small but real change brought about by the treatment.
[mandala_course lesson=”555″]
Lesson 555: Drawing "My Treatment Pathway" - Guidance and Suggestions
Purpose:It allows you to understand visually how psychotherapy supports the regulation of emotional responses step by step.
① Draw an outward spiral on a piece of paper.
② Write down the "symptoms" in the center: such as irritability, sudden depression, or being triggered.
③ Write the treatment methods in order on the outer circle: cognitive modification, emotion regulation, attachment repair, awareness training, etc.
④ Write "Choose Again" on the outermost circle, symbolizing that the treatment gives you greater freedom.
⑤ Write a sentence:Healing is not about eliminating emotions, but about learning to live with them.
Please log in before submitting your drawings and feelings.
○ 555. Log Guidance
① Which treatment method makes me feel most "seen"?
② In what situations am I most likely to fall into reactive depression?
③ If I understand it through a therapeutic lens, what new meaning can I see?
④ Which small step am I willing to start with?
⑤ Write a sentence:I deserve to move in a better direction.
Please log in to use.
Therapy is not a tool for quickly resolving emotions, but rather a way to help you rebuild a mental path where you can choose, stop, and start over.
EN 
ZH 
ES 
FR 
JA