Let me summarize PDT and the principles on which it is based:
Personalized Depression Therapy (PDT) is a new way to conceptualize and treat major depression. PDT works by replacing a “negative” set of thoughts and behaviors with a “positive” set. Simply, the goal of PDT is to replace things that trigger the depression response with things that don’t.
PDT is based on the following principles:
1) Major depression is a submission response in the brain triggered by submissive behaviors and thoughts.
2) Submissive behaviors and thoughts are a negative influence on our lives. Repeated over time, these negative behaviors and thoughts can create a submission response overload. When we suffer a severe depression, our brain is telling us to submit to the negative behaviors and thoughts that are attacking it.
This is what the feeling of depression means.
3) Dominant behaviors and thoughts are required to recondition the submission response.
4) Dominant behaviors and thoughts are produced in six positive areas that help define our personalities: 1) possessions; 2) places; 3) people; 4) activities; 5) skills; and 6) beliefs. Time spent doing and thinking about the things in these six areas will tend to destroy the submission response. Our depression will decrease and eventually be eliminated.
PDT is a simple therapy. In short, here’s how it works:
The depression sufferer takes a self-inventory of submissive (i.e., negative) behaviors and thoughts, and a self-inventory of dominant (i.e., positive) behaviors and thoughts. During a period of six to eight weeks, actual time spent engaging in both submissive and dominant behaviors is systematically tracked. The goal is to increasingly replace the submissive behaviors with the dominant behaviors. By doing this every day, major depressive episodes, as well as overall feelings of depression, should noticeably decrease.
