Depression & Motivation: How CBT Therapy Helps You Break the Cycle
Everyone experiences low motivation sometimes, especially during stressful or emotional periods. A sudden job loss, interpersonal relationship issues, or any regular life change can lead to a loss of inspiration to keep trying. While temporary lack of motivation can be normal, consistent neglect of responsibilities, lack of ability to complete tasks, and low energy may be indicative of a larger issue, such as depression.
Feeling unmotivated in these situations is a normal human response. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can help one recognize thought and behavioral patterns that contribute to a lack of motivation to complete daily life tasks.
How is Lack of Motivation Associated with Depression?
Depression often involves ongoing feelings of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness, or emotional numbness. Though lack of motivation can occur without depression, a steady decline in motive for a long period of time can contribute to the development of depression.
Lack of motivation can contribute to a cycle of thinking that is not only related to depression, but further worsens existing lack of motive.
A typical decline in motivation can eventually lead to depression in the following sequence:
Lack of motivation
Difficulty finding energy, beginning, & completing tasks
Feelings of shame, guilt, sadness, and hopelessness associated with lack of task completion
Depression
Over time, this cycle can make even small responsibilities feel exhausting. What begins as low motivation can gradually deepen into depression, and depression then continues to weaken motivation.
How CBT therapy Can Help
Thought and behavioral patterns often reinforce one another without a person's conscious awareness. It is easy to get stuck in a cycle of lack of motivation due to experiencing negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions about the lack of motive. However, this only further causes more lack of motivation and negative patterns.
CBT therapy is one of the most effective treatments for depression and low motivation. CBT works to make an individual aware of their unconscious cognitions, such as automatic negative thoughts that lead to lack of motivation, and cause negative behaviors including lack of energy or initiative in completing tasks.
The first step in maintaining a more healthy frame of mind is awareness. Even small steps, like completing one simple task or establishing a routine, can help rebuild confidence and energy over time.
CBT therapists are trained to help people with lack of motivation understand what thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are reinforcing this lack of motive, as well as slowly working toward challenging and replacing said thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with healthy ones.
Your Motivation is not Lost Forever
When motivation has disappeared, it is easy to think that it may never come back again. However, with CBT therapy, you can work with a professional to understand what exact emotions, thoughts, and behaviors are keeping you trapped in an endless cycle of lack of action.
At Healing Voices Psychotherapy, we provide CBT therapy in Barrie, Bradford, Collingwood, Newmarket, and across Ontario. Book a free 15-minute consultation today to learn how CBT therapy can help you rebuild motivation, improve mood, and move forward with greater confidence.
