DEPRESSION THERAPY
Breaking Free from the Darkness: Overcoming Depression And Finding Your Path to Well-being
Are you struggling with feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or worthlessness? Do you feel as if you move from one painful moment to the next without any breaks or cause for optimism? Have you found yourself doing things you wouldn’t normally do, just to try and feel better?
If so, you may be struggling with depression. Whether it’s a new or chronic condition, depression can be debilitating.
What Is Depression?
Depression is a prolonged low mood that lasts more days than not and persists for at least several weeks in a row. It is more than normal sadness, more akin to a kind of numbness and emptiness that makes you feel like a zombie, or like something inside of you is broken. It can come on suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere, or it may have been something you have struggled with for years. You may be able to identify why you’re depressed, or it may feel like there’s no good reason at all. Depression can be so severe that you have trouble working, eating, bathing, and taking care of your responsibilities. It can also be less intense but nonetheless troubling, a years-long low-grade sadness or apathy that makes it feel like you’re always still buffering, never experiencing the pleasure and optimism that others seem to be able to find in life.
Emotional symptoms of depression include:
- Persistent feelings of sadness or emptiness
- Loss of interest or pleasure in activities you used to enjoy
- Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism
- Irritability
- Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
- Difficulties concentrating or making decisions
- Thoughts of death or suicide
Physical symptoms of depression include:
- Changes in appetite or weight
- Sleep disturbances (insomnia or sleeping too much)
- Fatigue or low-energy
- Physical aches and pains
- Slowed movements or speech
My Treatment Approach
The process starts with an initial clinical assessment. During this first meeting, we talk through your history, your concerns, your goals, and your strengths. We confirm your diagnosis and work together to make a treatment plan, which would include determining the best research-backed therapy for you and your situation.
I use several research-backed therapies when I treat clients for depression:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Focus on identifying and changing negative thoughts and behaviors.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Incorporate mindfulness, acceptance, and values-driven decision making to help you improve your mental health.
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): Learn distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal skills.
What Should I Expect?
In a typical session with a client struggling with depression, we might focus on:
- Identifying the underlying causes: Depression can be caused by a combination of life stressors, genetics, and beliefs. Finding out what is at the root of your low mood is an important part of the process.
- Limiting destructive behaviors: In an attempt to feel better, many people with depression isolate, avoid activities they used to enjoy, or engage in behaviors that are unhealthy. In therapy we acknowledge with great compassion that you’ve been doing your best, but that now it’s time to try something different.
- Developing positive coping skills: Whether it’s art, exercise, friends, or your faith, there are many good ways to cope with stress. There are also specialized forms of therapy, such as CBT and DBT, that teach advanced positive coping skills.
- Challenging negative thoughts: Repetitive negative thought patterns can play a significant role in fueling the process of depression. Specialized therapies, such as CBT, offer excellent tools for identifying and reframing unhelpful thinking patterns.
- Improving relationships: Depression can isolate us or lead us to be more irritable with our friends and loved ones. Learning to effectively engage again with the important people in your life can go a long way towards improving your mood. Specialized therapies, such as DBT, are particularly helpful when it comes to managing relationships.
- Finding meaning and purpose: Engaging in activities you care about can give you a sense of pride, accomplishment, and meaning, which in the long run helps most people feel more satisfied with their life. ACT is a particularly effective therapeutic approach for depression since it helps you focus on your values, even if you still feel down sometimes.
Get The Help You Deserve
If you’re struggling with depression, it’s important to know that there is help out there. You don’t have to suffer alone. Professional clinical counseling can help you figure out your next steps.
Ready to Consider Therapy?
Contact me today to get started. We can schedule a free, confidential consultation to go over any questions or concerns you have about counseling.
Please note that while I do my best to get back to all new prospective clients quickly, I do not provide immediate, emergency mental health services or same-day appointments. If you feel that your depression is too severe to wait and that you are a current danger to yourself or others, get help now.
For immediate help, call or text 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Hotline, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.