Topic: A Brief Discussion on Emotions and Mental Health
Date: 16 June 2024 (Sunday)
Speaker: Ms Lee Li Li, Clinical Psychologist


Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales - Youth version (DASSY)

Instructions: We would like to find out how you have been feeling in THE PAST WEEK. There are some sentences below. Please select the statement which best shows how TRUE each sentence was of you during the past week. There are no right or wrong answers.

1. I got upset about little things
2. I felt dizzy, like I was about to faint
3. I did not enjoy anything
4. I had trouble breathing (e.g. fast breathing), even though I wasn't exercising and I was not sick.
5. I hated my life
6. I found myself over-reacting to situations
7. My hands felt shaky
8. I was stressing about lots of things
9. I felt terrified
10. There was nothing nice I could look forward to
11. I was easily irritated
12. I found it difficult to relax
13. I could not stop feeling sad
14. I got annoyed when people interrupted me
15. I felt like I was about to panic
16. I hated myself
17. I felt like I was no good
18. I was easily annoyed
19. I could feel my heart beating really fast, even though I hadn't done any hard exercise
20. I felt scared for no good reason
21. I felt that life was terrible

Depression
Question	3	5	10	13	16	17	21	Total
Score

Anxiety
Question	2	4	7	9	15	19	20	Total
Score

Stress
Question	1	6	8	11	12	14	18	Total
Score

DASSY Scoring
	Depression	Anxiety	Stress
Normal	0-5	0-4	0-7
Mild	6-7	5-6	8-9
Moderate	8-10	7-8	10-13
Severe	11-14	9-10	14-17
Extremely Severe	15+	11+	8+

Symptoms of Depressive Mood:

1. Irritability: Easily angered by trivial matters, disproportionate reactions to events.
2. Poor Memory: Memory worse than peers of the same age.
3. Absent-mindedness: Often daydreaming or distracted.
4. Poor Appetite: Loss of appetite or decreased desire to eat.
5. Sleep Problems: Difficulty falling asleep or waking up tired.
6. Persistent Fatigue: Constantly feeling exhausted.
7. Inner Restlessness: Feeling fearful without apparent reason.
8. Unease: Persistent sense that something bad is going to happen.

The Tripartite Balance Perspective:

• Either/or Thinking: Absolute Demands
  In life, many people often resort to arguing to resolve conflicts, which often stems from unreasonable absolutist beliefs. These demands not only limit the methods of problem-solving but also tend to provoke emotional conflicts and opposition.


• Seeking the Middle Ground: The Tripartite Concept
  Instead of arguing from opposite ends of a spectrum, a better approach is to analyze issues from the middle ground, seeking a balance point. This method provides greater flexibility and allows for the exploration of multiple problem-solving strategies. This balanced perspective helps us approach conflicts more rationally and comprehensively, thereby finding more effective solutions.

Guidance for Managing Negative Emotions:

1. Chair Theory:
   • Inner Dialogue: Engage in a conversation with an imagined part of yourself. This technique helps in gaining rational understanding and often leads to clarity.
   • Three-chair Technique: Set up three chairs representing yourself, another person, and an observer. Sit in each chair to view the problem from different perspectives.
   • Two-chair Technique: Place two chairs where one represents yourself and the other represents the person you wish to dialogue with, simulating a conversation process.


2. Tearing Paper and Crying:
   • Tear Paper: Release inner frustration and anger by tearing paper into pieces.
   • Crying: Allow yourself to cry aloud to release sadness and stress.


3. Painting (Water colour):
   • Express and release emotions through painting.


4. Emotional Letter Writing:
   • Write a letter expressing your emotions, without restrictions on form or content. This can be therapeutic even if not sent.


5. Physical Activities:
   • Hugging and Back Patting: Seek emotional support through physical contact like hugging or patting on the back.
   • Squatting: Changing body posture, such as squatting, helps stabilize emotions.
   • Doing 20 squats: Intense physical activity can help dissipate tense emotions.


6. Erikson Breathing Method:
   • Learn techniques to regulate breathing for physiological adjustment, aiming to restore emotional balance.
   • Meditation and Sitting Quietly: Achieve inner calm through meditation and quiet sitting.
   • Adaptation and Habit: Overcome emotional triggers gradually by repeatedly facing them, such as gradually overcoming nervousness when speaking.
   • Disguise: When facing difficulties, consciously adopt a positive posture to confront challenges.
   • Avoidance: When emotions reach a boiling point, interventions like washing your face, looking in the mirror, or doing emergency squats (10 times) can help.


7. Cultivating Diverse Interests:
   • Diversify Leisure Activities: Engage in a variety of hobbies to alleviate negative emotions.

Self-Healing Techniques:

1. Reflection on Achievements:
   • Regularly review your accomplishments and experience the joy and satisfaction that success brings. This helps strengthen self-confidence and enhance self-worth.


2. Writing Ten "I Can" Sentences:
   • Write down at least ten sentences starting with "I can...", affirming your capabilities and positive attributes.


3. Developing Interests and Hobbies:
   • Engage in activities that you enjoy and are passionate about to foster personal growth and well-being.


4. Listing Personal Strengths from Various Aspects (at least ten):
   • Reflect on your strengths in areas such as appearance, physique, skin, learning abilities, financial management, goals, and willpower. Acknowledging these strengths enhances self-confidence and self-identity.

The Art of Venting:

1. How to Vent Anger?
   • Talk it out, listen to music, use stress balls, engage in physical activities.
   • Anger Diary:
     1. Record what made you angry.
     2. Rate the intensity of your anger on a scale of 1-10.
     3. Identify the reasons behind your anger.
     4. Reflect on constructive ways to handle anger (think and write about how to manage anger constructively, understanding your patterns of anger).


2. How to Vent Loneliness?
   • Set clear life goals, actively participate in social activities, cultivate hobbies and interests to increase enjoyment and fulfillment in life.


3. How to Vent Frustration?
   • Use positive methods like talking it out, listening to music, or engaging in travel to transform negative emotions into productive motivation.


4. How to Vent Depression or Grief?
   • For Depression: Journaling
     • Write about your feelings, analyze irrational thoughts, promote self-growth and inner dialogue.
   • For Grief: Talking it out
     • Express sadness and pain to friends, family, or a counsellor to release emotions.


5. How to Vent Anxiety, Fear, or Jealousy?
   • Through talking it out, writing, listening to music, or singing, effectively release and manage negative emotions to promote mental health and emotional balance.