Practical Tools For Depression Relief - by Andrea Wachter

COURSE

Practical Tools For Depression Relief

With Andrea Wachter

If you are currently struggling with depression, or you have experienced recurring depression in the past, join psychotherapist, author, and meditation teacher Andrea Wachter as she guides you through a menu of effective techniques for depression relief. Combining therapeutic practices, personal stories, powerful metaphors, writing exercises, guided meditations, and a dash of humor, these 12 lessons will load you up with a variety of resources that you can turn to for support and relief.

DepressionRecovery & HealingPsychologyScience

Meet your Teacher

Andrea Wachter
Santa Cruz, CA, USA

Andrea Wachter is a licensed psychotherapist, author, and meditation teacher. She is passionate about helping people who struggle with anxiety, depression, disordered eating, body image, substance abuse, grief, and communication. Andrea uses her professional expertise, as well as her own personal recovery to foster a teaching style that is often described as compassionate, practical, and light-hearted.

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12 Days

5.8k students

4.9 stars

21 min / day

Depression

English

Lesson 1

Compassion, Meet Depression

Our first lesson sets the foundation of the course by introducing one of the core themes: self-compassion. If we are experiencing depression, it is quite common to disapprove of it and want it to be gone. This makes perfect sense. Depression doesn’t feel good. But, when we meet depression with compassion and warmth, we shine some light on it and give it the chance to be seen, feel heard, and soften. This is what we will be practicing today. We conclude this lesson with a meditation to help integrate the experience of meeting depression with compassion.

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Lesson 2

Caring for Your Body

In this lesson, Andrea discusses the importance of taking care of your body, especially when depression levels are high, and energy and motivation are low. We will then review seven different areas of self-care to see if you could benefit from any gentle improvements. If so, you will have the opportunity to set small, realistic goals to better care for your body, which can have a positive effect on depression.

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Lesson 3

Tending to Emotions & Needs

This lesson teaches and highlights the connection between pressing down (or de-pressing) painful feelings and feeling depressed. Andrea discusses the importance of healthy emoting and meeting your feelings with warmth and compassion. You will then be guided through a powerful writing exercise where you will be asked to identify your emotions and needs and offer them empathy and compassion.

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Lesson 4

Stinkin’ Thinkin’

In this session, we review a comprehensive list of cognitive distortions (unhealthy thought patterns) that often lead to and accompany states of depression. You will then have the opportunity to see if you relate to these sometimes unconscious and often automatic ways of thinking. We conclude the lesson with a mindfulness meditation, which will give you some time to quiet your mind and take a break from all thoughts.

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Lesson 5

Upgrading the Unkind Mind

This session continues the previous lesson’s theme of cognitive distortions. Often, unhelpful thoughts can lead to states of depression, and depression can fuel unhelpful thoughts. This makes upgrading unhelpful thought patterns an extremely important part of depression relief. Reviewing our list of cognitive distortions from our last session, today is about learning how to challenge and upgrade unkind or unhelpful thoughts, so your thinking will be more kind, clear, and supportive.

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Lesson 6

Conscious Awareness

In this lesson, we will be shifting out of thoughts and emotions and connecting with the part of you that is the witness of thoughts and emotions: pure, conscious awareness. Together we will practice a simple and powerful meditation that allows you to rest in the calmness of ever-present awareness.

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Lesson 7

Mindful Movement

Research shows that moderate exercise can be very helpful in reducing depression. For today’s lesson, please prepare for a 15-minute mindful walking practice. If you are unable to walk, feel free to settle into a comfortable position and use the power of visualization to transport you.

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Lesson 8

Compassion Meditation

In this lesson, we will return to our theme of meeting emotions with compassion, only this time, through meditation practice. We will be doing a powerful guided meditation that will enable you to connect with the depressed part of you and offer it the warmth and compassion that it needs.

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Lesson 9

Voo-ing in Vagus & Havening Hugs

In this session, Andrea teaches three practical, user-friendly techniques to tone your vagus nerve, reduce stress, and experience a sense of calm and comfort. First, we will stimulate the vagus nerve by chanting the sound of “voo.” Then we will practice Self-Havening, which is a gentle and effective process that sends signals through our nerves and skin receptors from our own touch. This process helps elicit positive changes in our brains for a self-soothing experience.

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Lesson 10

Conscious Screen Use

Excessive or unfulfilling screen use can be linked to states of depression. In this lesson, Andrea discusses various components of screen use, and you will have the opportunity to evaluate your relationship with screens. We will also practice several simple energy exercises that can be helpful for screen breaks and post-screen use.

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Lesson 11

Safe Support

Depression can be, and feel, very isolating at times, which makes having safe support so important. In this lesson, Andrea defines and discusses what it means to have safe support people in your life, and we conclude the session with a meditation that will guide you to a safe and supportive scene.

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Lesson 12

Harbor of Hope

We begin our final session with a powerful metaphor that can help to clarify the cycle of depression and highlight the importance of regularly practicing tools for depression relief. Andrea concludes the session with a summary of all the course lessons, followed by a gentle meditation.

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Ask your teacher

This course includes 153 community questions and 33 audio replies from Andrea Wachter. The community classroom and teacher audio replies are only available via the app.

153

4.9 (119)

Recent Reviews

Niloc

October 20, 2025

This course is very powerful, thank you <3

Benjamin

October 10, 2025

Good tools. Compassionate voice

Janis

July 25, 2025

Great tools!

Dennis

January 31, 2025

Have listened to many courses from Andrea, always great listening and so very helpful to me. This course stood out, so many helpful tools that help me daily. One of my favorite teachers on Insight Timer.

Robin

January 20, 2025

Really excellent course from a compassionate teacher… thank you. ☮️💟

Barbara

December 20, 2024

Exceptional course. I wish the counselors I have sought out in my life would have taught me these tools.

Sara

December 11, 2024

A fabulous wealth of information and resources delivered with compassion and understanding. Thank you for offering this course. I highly recommend it for anyone that has struggled with depression.

Angela

November 24, 2024

A very helpful course.

Melanie

November 6, 2024

This is an amazing course. Thank you so much! I will work through it again.

Annette

October 27, 2024

A good basic review of all the things we can do to relieve depression.

GLORIA

October 3, 2024

Inspirational and motivating!

Stacy

June 6, 2024

Very helpful. 🛟I appreciate your work and sharing of these practices. I will revisit.

Lori

May 13, 2024

Thank you for all your tools. I will try to listen to ceryain days again. Gettng unstuck and finding purpose are so easy to say but hard to implement.

Elaine

April 9, 2024

This was very helpful and thought-provoking… Gives a feeling of peace… Thank you

Delena

March 5, 2024

Great voice, honest talk and practical tools.

Lucy

February 22, 2024

Thank you, many useful tools to start me swimming towards the harbour of hope and rejecting the nearer harbour of depression.

Jen

February 6, 2024

Andrea is the best. Every word, concept, and strategy, combined with her incomparable soothing tone, make her the teacher I return to repeatedly. I cycle through her courses and tracks constantly, always finding something new. Thank you, Andrea. 🙏🏻💚

Fabienne

December 30, 2023

Thank you so much Andrea for the course and all the compassion reminders, tools, many insights, loving support and +++ I would definitely recommend it! Blessings to you and all on the healing journey !

Parv

December 30, 2023

A nice wholistic approach to this subject. Thank You.

Susan

December 28, 2023

This course is superb! I learned a lot, it reinforced a lot, and it took me on a clarifying, beneficial journey. I found the classes, informative, relaxing, and thought provoking. The course felt like a “safe harbor.” Andrea is without a doubt, experienced and wise. Even if you are not depressed, the course can offer amazing insight, tools and self-awareness… with gratitude ❤️🙏

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