Key Takeaways
Behavioral activation is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) technique that focuses on changing your actions to improve your mood and motivation.
You don’t need to wait to “feel ready.” By engaging in healthy behaviors, your emotions often start to follow.
Behavioral activation is effective for managing depression and other mental health conditions. It can also help during periods of low motivation or burnout.
When you live with depression, everything — including activities like exercising, housework, and seeing your friends — can feel like a chore. But when you don’t do these things, you can get caught in a cycle and may experience more depression symptoms. And this can further impact your motivation. This is where behavioral activation can help.
Behavioral activation is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) strategy. It’s based on the fundamental idea that action often comes before emotion. You can change your behavior now, without waiting to feel motivated. This technique can help empower you to engage in fulfilling activities, and that can positively impact your mental health moving forward.
How behavioral activation works
The key principle behind CBT is the relationship between our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. When we make changes in one area, the other two see improvements. A common example of this is reframing our thoughts. When we’re able to change the way we think about a situation, we tend to feel better. We might also behave in a different way.
Behavioral activation is another common example of this. It’s based on the idea that action often comes before emotion. It works by helping you change your behavior first, to see differences in the way you think and feel. You don’t need to wait to feel a certain way in order to take action. When you take action, your emotions will naturally follow.
This can feel counterintuitive — especially if you live with a mental health condition like depression. Depression can sap you of energy and motivation, so you’re naturally less inclined to do things like exercise or see your friends. But behavioral activation encourages you to engage in these healthy behaviors anyway, before you may “feel like it.” A lot of the time, this naturally lifts your mood and gives you more motivation.
Who can benefit from behavioral activation?
Behavioral activation can benefit anyone who lives with symptoms of a mental health condition. Research has found [1] that it’s an effective intervention for managing depression. But there may be many scenarios in which changing your behavior can lead to feeling better.
Some examples include:
Major depressive disorder (MDD): You experience depression-related fatigue, so you stop leaving your room. Behavioral activation can encourage you to get outside and exercise despite feeling fatigued. This naturally raises your energy levels and lifts your mood.
Anxiety disorders: You live with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and avoid social gatherings. Through behavioral activation, you can set a goal to engage in one social activity per week, whether or not you feel “ready.”
Bipolar disorder: Similar to MDD, bipolar depression can come with increased anhedonia. Behavioral activation [2] can help you overcome those challenges and reconnect with joy.
You don’t necessarily need to live with a mental health condition to benefit from behavioral activation. For example, if you’re experiencing a temporary low mood, you can use these principles to start to feel better.
Can behavioral activation ever become unhelpful?
Behavioral activation can be very helpful. But if you use it all the time, you might stay busy without noticing your feelings. If your activities start to feel like “autopilot,” try to slow down. It may help to rest, think about your feelings, or talk with a therapist.
Behavioral activation exercises to try
Behavioral activation is typically part of CBT, which you can participate in with a licensed therapist. But you can also benefit from behavioral activation on your own. Here are some exercises you can try.
Mood monitoring
Part of behavioral activation is understanding what affects your mood in both positive and negative ways. Spend a few days tracking your mood. Check in with yourself several times a day. Write down your mood (it can help to rate your mood on a scale), as well as what you were doing. For example, this might look like: “8 a.m., ate breakfast, mood: 6/10.”
When you start engaging in behavioral activation, monitoring can help you notice which activities increase your mood.
Scheduling activities
If you live with depression, even pleasurable and fun activities can start to feel like too much. An important step in behavioral activation is to make the effort to intentionally schedule these activities. Pleasurable activities are just as important to schedule into your day as necessary activities like work or chores.
Think about what you actually enjoy doing when depression isn’t impacting your motivation. Examples include:
Calling a friend
Listening to your favorite song
Playing a game
Eating something delicious
Watching a comedy special
Even when you don’t “feel like” doing these activities, schedule them and stick to the plan as much as possible.
Problem-solving barriers
If you’re unable to stick to your plan, try to problem-solve the barriers that got in your way. If you didn’t have the energy and motivation, remind yourself that behavioral activation works on the idea that action comes before emotion. We don’t need to wait until we have the motivation to take action. That often comes later.
It can also help to look at what specifically prevented you from following through. For example, if you felt too tired to take a walk after work, maybe a shorter or slower walk feels more realistic. If you tend to lose track of time scrolling online, setting a timer can make it easier to switch tasks. Identifying these small, practical changes can make your plan more sustainable.
Getting started with behavioral activation in therapy
To experience the full benefits of behavioral activation, it’s best to work with a therapist who specializes in CBT. Most therapists incorporate some CBT principles into their work. But it can be helpful to ask whether they have specific experience using behavioral activation techniques to treat depression or other mental health conditions.
When you’re participating in behavioral activation, it’s crucial to complete assignments between sessions. These tasks are designed to help you put new habits into practice, not just talk about them in therapy. Tracking your activities, identifying which ones improve your mood, and gradually adding more of them over time can all reinforce what you learn in session.
Behavioral activation is typically used together with other treatment methods. This might include other CBT techniques (like cognitive reframing), as well as medication if needed. Talking with a mental health professional can help you figure out if behavioral activation could be a valuable addition to your current treatment plan.
Clinician's take
A small change that can often lift your mood is spending a few minutes outside each day. Fresh air and natural light can shift your energy more than you might expect. It doesn’t have to be a long walk, just a moment to step out of your current space.
Find care with Rula
Behavioral activation can be a powerful tool for breaking out of a depressive cycle. By taking small, consistent actions, you can begin to lift your mood and reconnect with what brings your life joy and meaning.
At Rula, we’re here to help you feel better. Rula makes it easy to find a licensed therapist or psychiatric provider who takes your insurance. That way, you don’t have to choose between great care and a price you can afford.
Rula patients pay about $15 per session with insurance, and 93% say they feel better after getting care through Rula. We have 21,000+ providers, and appointments are available as soon as tomorrow. We’re here to help you take the next step — wherever you are in your mental health journey.
