hmm.

[lingeringviolet]

So I found a couple of interesting links today regarding depression and anxiety.

E-couch "provides information about emotional problems - what causes them, how to prevent them and how to treat them. It includes exercises to help you understand yourself and others better. Even better, it provides you with a set of strategies that might help you to improve your life" and "is co-funded by Australia's beyondblue: the national depression initiative and the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University."

MoodGym, a sister site of e-couch, claims to "deliver cognitive behaviour therapy
for preventing depression."

Has anyone heard anything about them? I'm especially looking at you, aussies-on-my-flist. I've seen a couple online comments from people who say they definitely do get something out of it. Anyway, I signed up for e-couch so far. They ask you to take a couple of short quizzes to help determine your anxiety and depression levels. I thought it was interesting. Will update if I actually find them useful.

)

On the anxiety scale you scored 8.
This score is in the HIGH to VERY HIGH range

Your score indicates that you experience high anxiety. e-couch may help you overcome some of your anxieties and insecurities.

You may also need professional help if you find these symptoms very distressing. There are a number of anxiety conditions that respond well to specialist treatment. These include panic disorder, social phobia, and post traumatic stress disorder.

In panic disorder a person experiences acute symptoms of anxiety (so severe that they may fear that they are having a heart attack). Social phobia or anxiety in social situations can also be very debilitating. For example, some people with this condition find that they can’t sign their name in public. Post traumatic stress disorder often produces very distressing symptoms, including flashbacks, where the person experiences very vivid images of previous trauma.

On the depression scale, you scored 7.
This score is in the MIDDLE to HIGH range

You have more depression symptoms than the average person your age. There are many reasons why you might have scored in this range. Perhaps you tend to become upset by events that others don't react to. Perhaps something unfortunate has occurred in the last few weeks and you haven't got over it, even though you normally cope very well.

In either case, e-couch may be of great interest to you, since it aims to improve the way you approach situations in life.

Comments

[lingeringviolet.livejournal.com]

Well don't feel too bad, at least your government is funding it at all. The only thing that gets funding here is military and defense. *eyeroll*

Also, you're right. I just tried WNF and it's also down. Damned GoS addiction *twitch twitch* Well, I suppose I should stop procrastinating and work through your composition and color tutorials. (I've been wanting to go ahead and join simgenix and simhaven but then I saw how awesome all of the shoots are. So now I must study a bit first so I don't stick out as the lone n00b. hehe I think simfic50 will still be awhile. I love the diea but I have so much anxiety about writing now. Is it possible to beat yourself up about it so much that you just kill any imagination you had? I'm starting to think yes.)

[goodbye-sun.livejournal.com]

PMBD now has a little something that confirms its down, but nothing on the why as of yet. Please join, we all do it just for fun and there is no such thing as a noob because everyone brings something different. It took me ages to get the headspace to do anything for simfic50, so really take your time. And absolutely yes, creativity is reliant on exposing some little bit of yourself, both in the act of making something and with sharing it with the wider world. Any sort of discomfort with the process or with your self can definitly stifle your imagination. I certainly have moments when it happens to me, but then I remind myself that whatever I create is not definitive, it is not the only thing that represents who I am, its just one tiny little piece that marks one point in time. That generally gives me the freedom to just let go of the fear again.