INPUT ARTICLE: Article: A good place to start in any quest to fix a problem is through research and education. Knowledge is power, and knowing what is affecting your depression is half the battle. Informational support can help depressed individuals cope with difficult situations. Psychoeducation is the specific term for becoming educated about your particular disorder. You can ask your therapist for psychoeducation about your disorder and work it into your treatment plan. Get books, research articles, watch documentaries, and conduct internet searches to learn more about your specific condition. Goal-setting is an integral component of any therapy to reduce symptoms of depression. In order to achieve a reduction in depression, you must have a plan. Ask yourself what you want to achieve in terms of dealing with your clinical depression. How do you want to deal your depression? Do you want it to be less severe? Do you want to learn new coping strategies? Be specific and set time-limited (one week, one month, six months) and attainable goals. For example, completely eradicating your depression in one month may be an unrealistic goal. However, reducing your depression on a scale of one to ten (ten being most depressed, and one not at all depressed) from nine to seven may be more attainable. Make a plan to reduce your depression. Use the coping strategies listed here as guidelines for creating specific goals. For example, one goal could be to conduct research about your mood disorder at least once per week. Evaluate whether your plan is working. Change the plan if you need to in order to include new strategies that you haven't yet tried. How one chooses to cope with depression will rely on specific stressors, culture, personal resources, and unique social situation. Some examples of good activities are: reading, watching movies, writing (in a journal or writing short stories), painting, sculpting, playing with an animal, cooking, playing music, sewing, and knitting. Schedule these pleasurable activities into your daily routine. Spiritual and religious practices, if you are so inclined, have been shown to reduce depression, especially in the elderly. Sometimes there are specific life events and stressful situations that contribute or increase depression. Using problem-solving as a coping resource during these times can help reduce depression. Focus on what you can control about the situation (your own reactions or thoughts about it) rather than worrying about things you can't control (such as what other people do). Sometimes interpersonal conflict can increase depression. Use conflict resolution if you have issues with other people. For example, discuss your feelings in an open but non-aggressive way. Use assertiveness by using "I statements," such as, "I feel sad when you forget to call me back." Avoid constantly seeking new information in order to put off action; this can be common in individuals who suffer from depression. Work on accepting that, for things to change, you must eventually take action. Informing yourself about all your options is helpful when making a decision, but at a certain point you must move forward and make that decision, whether it's about ending a destructive friendship or trying a new form of therapy. Focus only on what you can control. Re-focus on planning and problem solving things that are changeable, instead of thinking too much about what others are doing wrong or what is happening in your environment (traffic, loud neighbors, etc.). More physical activity is strongly associated with reduced levels of depression. Exercise can even help depression in spite of medical problems and negative life events. Do any exercise you can, including: walking, running, biking, using an elliptical, hiking, or weight-lifting. Try fun exercises you may not have tried yet, such as: Zumba, dance aerobics, yoga, Pilates, and kayaking. Mindfulness-based meditation may help increase well-being and reduce depression. Mindfulness is all about being in the current moment, the here and now. It is focusing on what you are currently engaged in instead of ruminating over the past or worrying about what might happen tomorrow. Mindfulness exercises are great ways for beginners to practice being mindful. Try a mindfulness exercise such as eating a piece of fruit (apple, banana, strawberry, anything you like) mindfully. First, look at the fruit. What colors and shapes do you notice? Then, touch the fruit. What does it feel like? It is soft, smooth, or bumpy? Appreciate how it feels and notice everything you can about the texture. Then smell the fruit and enjoy its aroma. Next, take a small bite of the fruit. What does it taste like? Is it tart or sweet? What is the texture like in your mouth? Eat it slowly while thinking and focusing on the experience of eating the fruit. Notice any other thoughts you might have that try to distract you, and without judging the thoughts, let them go. Another example of a mindfulness exercise is going on a mindfulness walk. Simply take a walk in your neighborhood (as long as it's safe) or a local park. Just like the fruit exercise, notice what you see, smell, hear, taste, and feel on your skin and body. Grounding exercises, or distraction techniques, are useful if you need to temporarily distract yourself from emotional pain. Grounding enables you to take a break from feeling depressed and ruminating and focus on something else. Try a mental grounding technique of naming all of the states, colors, or animals you can think of (from A to Z). Engage in a physical grounding exercise such as running cold water over your hands, taking a bubble bath, or petting an animal. There are many other grounding exercises you can research online. Negative ways of coping are linked to increases in depression. Coping negatively can include isolating yourself socially (avoiding social contact), using aggression (such as yelling, violence, or harming others), or consuming alcohol or other substances to excess. Avoid drugs and alcohol as means to cope with depressed mood or other depressive symptoms. Substance use problems are common in people who suffer from depression.

SUMMARY: Educate yourself. Set goals. Increase pleasurable activities that work for you. Work to solve the problem. Exercise. Use mindfulness or meditation. Ground yourself. Avoid negative ways of coping.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The reason questions are a successful sales tactic is that they allow the customer to do most of the talking. This gives you a better idea of what their needs are and how you can sell your product to them. But this only works if you actually give your customer time to talk. In other words, don't drown them in product description and technical information. Instead, save this information for later, when you've identified the problem and already sold them on the fact that you can provide a solution. After all, if they just wanted information, odds are they could get it on your website. You need to figure out exactly what you could bring to your prospect and how what you bring can further their overall goals. You already have the first part from your discussions of the customer's problem. However, for the second part you will need an idea of what the customer wants to achieve overall. Try coming at this directly with something like, "What are you looking to accomplish in the next few years?" or "What is the primary long-term goal of your business?". From here, you can tailor the language and content of your product or service offering to how you can help them along the path to achieving their goals. You can also draw out customer desires by asking them to imagine the future of their business or life. You can either ask about how their life or business will be in the future or how they hope your business relationship will develop. For example, try asking, "Where do you see yourself/your company in five years? Ten years?" or, "How do you see your business developing if we go through with this deal?". You can gather even more information by asking other hypothetical questions like, "If you had no monetary constraints, what changes would you make?". Listen to these responses and think about the solutions you could provide. At regular intervals, especially if you are explaining something complex, stop to ask your customer if they have any questions. This not only keeps them engaged, but can keep you from having to go back and explain something you've already moved past. In any case, try to maintain an air of helpfulness and take the time to explain anything the customer doesn't understand, as well as to understand their concerns as deeply as possible. And when your customer is thinking about their answers or questions, wait patiently and quietly.

SUMMARY:
Let the customer talk. Inquire about their overall goals. Ask about the future. Find out if they have any questions.