Coaching practices for How to Cope with Depression at Work

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For How to Cope with Depression at Work, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• Things that used to be nothing
• I’ve gone quiet on everyone
• I’ve got my go-to ways of coping that feel justified and even comforting in the moment, but when I’m honest nothing is actually getting better
• The second a problem lands my gut reaction is "of course, this is just me, I can’t handle anything"
• I could list ten things that went wrong at work today without blinking but I’d struggle to name one that went right

Practices that may help

1. Grade activity difficulty upward gradually
   Start with the easiest feasible pleasant activity and increase demands only after success.
   Pleasant Events Scheduling, Made Practical
2. Schedule social contact as a priority activity
   Treat social interaction as a prescribed activity, not as something to do when you feel ready.
   Pleasant Events Scheduling, Made Practical
3. Ask the workability question
   Ask "is what I am doing working?" — not "is it right?" but whether it is moving you toward the life you want.
   Emotional Agility, Made Practical
4. Build a positive problem orientation
   Treat problems as normal, solvable challenges rather than signs of personal failure.
   Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical
5. Apply three good things to work contexts specifically
   Use the exercise to rewire what you notice about your work day — contribution, competence, and collaboration.
   Three Good Things: The Evidence-Based Gratitude Practice
6. Coping Questions
   When things seem terrible, ask how the person is managing at all — acknowledging and excavating their resilience.
   Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Building On What Works
7. Select the specific coping skills you will use — in advance
   Choose which DBT or other coping skills you will deploy at each difficult moment, before you are in it.
   Cope Ahead: DBT’s Method for Preparing for Difficult Situations
8. Review what happened after the event to refine the next cope ahead
   Compare how you actually coped to your plan — the gap is your next training target.
   Cope Ahead: DBT’s Method for Preparing for Difficult Situations
9. Track mood alongside activity
   Record mood ratings before and after activities to identify what genuinely lifts versus drains you.
   Pleasant Events Scheduling, Made Practical
10. ACCEPTS — structured distraction from crisis
    Use Activities, Contributing, Comparisons, Emotions, Pushing away, Thoughts, and Sensations to redirect attention during a crisis.
    Distress Tolerance Skills, Made Practical

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