Start teaching emotional literacy early to prevent mental health problems

One of the biggest benefits of being a Family Doctor working with mental health is our ability to work with it in a transdiagnostic framework.

We don’t have to commit to a “depression or anxiety” diagnosis to help people process their feelings and thoughts. We don’t have to wait for a full blown expression of “depression or anxiety” before we can take action.

We can help our patients at anytime to zoom out from the thoughts and feelings that don’t matter or not in their locus of control, and zoom into the stuff that really matters or in their locus of control. This creates psychological flexibility rather than psychological rigidity.

Start early.

We don’t wait for people to be illiterate before we teach them about literacy, so why wait for “depression or anxiety” before we teach them about emotional literacy.

Prevention is better than cure right?