Depression Treatment
Are You Feeling Hopeless And Helpless?
Have you been dealing with depression and don’t know how to overcome it? Do you often feel listless and zapped of energy? Are daily tasks becoming a burden for you as you struggle to maintain concentration?
When depression takes hold, it can feel like you’re stuck in an endless prison of suffering. All hope is lost as the color seemingly drains out of life. Perhaps you no longer enjoy the activities you once loved and, finding your relationships taxing rather than enriching, you withdraw from those around you. When you are in the grips of depression you may feel like a burden—or perhaps inferior—to others and prefer to remain isolated. Even though your isolation is self-imposed, you’re lonely.
Your physical symptoms could be compounding your depression. Maybe no matter how much you sleep you still feel exhausted or, conversely, suffer from insomnia and can’t stay focused during the day. Similarly, your appetite may either fluctuate between not eating enough or overeating. Either way, you are out of balance and don’t feel healthy.
Your Symptoms Of Depression Can Feel Like There’s No Escape
When it feels like life has lost its meaning, you may find yourself fantasizing about suicide. The idea of not being here anymore may appear to be the only means of escaping the pain you’re in. Part of you knows suicide is not the answer, but you think about it nonetheless.
Coming to terms with and overcoming depression is possible with treatment. With encouragement and support, therapy can help you understand your depression and identify how best to treat it.
Depression Takes Hold When We Don’t Address Loss
All of us are confronted with various forms of loss throughout our lives and must find ways to cope with it. Despite the common expression, we simply don’t “get over it” when something disappointing or traumatic happens to us. In fact, it can be quite complicated to mourn the loss of someone or something that matters a great deal.
For many of us, depression stems from a current loss that is intertwined with a trauma we experienced in our past. The grieving process can be difficult and painful. Rather than confront the difficult emotions and feelings we are experiencing, we tend to avoid them at all costs. We may exist in a state of denial until our bodies don’t allow us to ignore our feelings anymore.
Our Culture Is Uncomfortable With Expressions Of Sadness Or Dissatisfaction
Everywhere we look, we see cheerful and aspirational imagery. We are made to believe that perpetual happiness is not only possible but something we should all be striving for. When we compare ourselves to others—especially on social media—we come away with the false perception that everyone except us is happy.
The myth of perpetual happiness makes it difficult for us to accept that sadness, irritability, and lack of interest in life are common responses to loss. Rather than recognizing the reality that we may struggle with daily life for a while after experiencing loss, we often feel ashamed to express our true feelings. To put others around us at ease, we pretend to feel “fine” when in fact we are not.
But it’s okay to admit when things are not fine. Therapy for depression enables you to understand why you are in pain and discover tangible solutions for treating it.
Depression Treatment Holds The Key To A More Positive Mindset
A recent loss—whether it’s the end of a relationship, a job termination, or the death of a loved one—can often stir up previous experiences of loss. This culmination of intense emotion can lead to unbearable pain and suffering. In therapy, we will explore the many emotional threads that are attached to your depression and how these feelings impact your life.
Our sessions together will allow you to talk about whatever is on your mind with someone interested in your experience. Together we will learn more about the thoughts and feelings that can make life seem painful. To ensure you are comfortable throughout the process, we will move at a pace that makes sense to you.
What To Expect In Sessions
After learning about your previous experience, we will explore what you’re hoping to achieve through therapy. If you’ve tried depression treatment before and are disappointed you didn’t receive the help you were seeking, we’ll discuss how we can make this experience more beneficial for you.
In ongoing sessions, we will consider how your previous experiences may be creating difficulties and affecting what’s currently going on with you. By examining your past and present more carefully, we may notice that patterns emerge related to behavior, thoughts, and interactions with others.
Next, we will explore what these patterns mean and how they influence your perspective on yourself, your life, and your overall satisfaction. Along the way, you will gain confidence in your ability to bear painful feelings as well as recognize that intimacy with others involves a willingness to be vulnerable and discuss what’s going on with them.
Finding Structure And Social Support Will Help Establish Stability
The isolation associated with depression often leads you to retreat inwardly. This is especially true when what’s upsetting you isn’t necessarily clear. If your low mood doesn’t feel justified, you may hold onto shame and self-loathing. However, when you don’t share how you’re feeling with the people who care about you, you lack the social support you need for coping with depression.
In therapy, you will learn the importance of structure and routine with support that includes keeping in regular contact with other people, sticking to schedules, and maintaining healthy self-care habits. The act of regularly attending therapy appointments in itself will demonstrate your commitment to positive change. And by getting a better sense of what’s getting in the way of leading a more active life, you will rediscover your motivation and sense of purpose.
Life provides us all with the opportunity to continue to grow and develop, especially in our relationships. While it takes some emotional work and commitment, treatment enables you to work through the complicated and layered feelings that underlie depression. And while no one can avoid hardship in life, therapy for depression can help you find ways to enjoy a fuller, more satisfying life and develop a greater sense of ease.
But You May Wonder Whether Depression Treatment Is Right For You…
I’m ashamed to seek therapy—shouldn’t I be able to handle depression on my own?
Like other medical diseases, depression is a mental disorder that requires treatment—there is no shame in that. And while stigmas surrounding therapy and anti-depressant medication still exist, they aren’t valid reasons to miss out on their benefits. Seeking treatment for depression is the first step in working through the emotions that make you feel stuck and sad. And if we determine medication is an appropriate adjunct to therapy, I can refer you to your primary care physician or a psychiatrist.
How can I trust you with my innermost thoughts and feelings?
As a therapist, I am trained to hold space and cultivate an environment where you will feel safe to express yourself without fear of judgment. However, when we embark on depression counseling together, we won’t know each other—how then can you trust me? Perhaps sharing things that feel very private to you will make you feel ashamed or uncomfortable. If so, part of our work together will be to learn about what makes it feel so risky for you to trust someone and show your vulnerability.
How is depression treatment with a therapist better than an app I can use at home?
I believe that people are inherently social and benefit from contact with others, including within the therapeutic relationship. You and I having conversations about what’s going on in your life may sound simple, but this interaction has the potential to make long-term positive changes in your life. By listening carefully to what you have to say, how you say it, and sometimes what you don’t say, I can help guide you to insights you wouldn’t have discovered on your own.
Are You Ready To Take The First Step To Feel Better?
Your depression doesn’t have to be a life sentence. Taking the first step to a brighter future starts here. For a free, 15-minute consultation, please call me at 415-522-7393 or click here to contact me.
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