Do You Feel Weighed Down by Life?
- Is joy or feeling a purpose in life missing for you?
- Do you often feel down, worthless or self-critical?
- Has a lack of energy left you feeling like everything is an enormous effort?
- Do you feel helpless to make things better?
Depression can take many forms. For example, feeling a lack of energy or pleasure in life is often part of depression. Feeling worthless, self-critical, or having thoughts of death or suicide are signs of depression. Loneliness, social withdrawal, feeling isolated, unloved or unlovable are usually symptoms of depression.
If you’re having trouble sleeping or you’re sleeping too much, if you keep forgetting things or can’t concentrate, or if you experience chronic irritability or moodiness, then chances are you’re suffering from depression.
Loss of interest in sex, or becoming hyper sexual, can be part of depression, as can be lack of appetite or increased appetite. Excessive weight gain or loss are common signs of depression.
Depression can lead you to shut down emotionally and withdraw from others. However, this is only likely to cause you to tumble into a downward spiral in which shutting down and isolating leaves you more depressed, causing you to want to shut down and isolate even more, and so forth.
Depression can also result in behaviors that make depressive symptoms worse. For example, many people suffering from depression attempt to self-soothe through excessive or addictive use of alcohol, drugs, food, caffeine, sex, shopping, the internet, or even working. While these activities may provide temporary relief, they can ultimately leave you feeling more depressed.
Do you want to enjoy life rather than suffering through it? Do you want to take pleasure in relationships and activities rather than feeling weighed down and alone? Thankfully, depression treatment can be extremely helpful. In providing a safe, supportive, and compassionate environment, I can help you learn how to manage the difficult feelings of life so that you can be freed up to enjoy the good.
Depression is Common
Most people have experienced mild depression at some point in their lives. For some, a life event may cause a period of depression. The death of a loved one, a breakup, job loss, or illness are just a few of the many life situations that can cause someone to experience one or more of the above symptoms for an extended period of time. Such a reaction to these kinds of life events can be normal, and may or may not require depression treatment, especially if the depression symptoms are mild or short in duration.
For others, a depression can be long-standing or very debilitating. Often times when you feel severe depression, it can be difficult just to get out of bed in the morning. The world can feel like it’s too much to deal with and staying in bed may seem like a comfortable and safe cocoon. Severe depression can cause low energy, and you may feel lethargic and unmotivated to do even the simplest of tasks. What’s more, being around people can feel overwhelming, causing you to avoid socializing with others. If everything seems negative and gray and you start to feel as though nothing is worthwhile in life, then severe depression can ensue.
Depression can be caused by one or more factors. Physiology can play a part. You may have a genetic component that can leave you vulnerable to bouts of moodiness. Hormonal imbalances or chronic pain conditions can also contribute to depression.
Painful, early life experiences can also result in depression later in life. Depression often stems from child abuse, neglect, or trauma from your past; growing up, one or both of your parents might have abused drugs or alcohol or suffered from their own depression, causing you to feel powerless as a child. Alternatively, the loss of someone close to you, either through a death or break up, can bring about a debilitating sadness that never seems to go away.
Fortunately, with depression treatment, I can help you identify what is causing you to feel depressed and together we can help you take steps to help you feel more joy and pleasure in life.
Depression Treatment Can Help You Feel More Joy in Life
A vital component to depression treatment is establishing a safe emotional space where you feel able to talk about difficult and sensitive feelings without criticism or judgment. To be able to talk about everything and anything with another person who is actively engaged in exploring and helping to make sense of what is going on can be a very powerful and healing experience. Putting feelings into words and having them witnessed and experienced with another can help free you up from feeling weighted down and all alone.
With depression, sometimes having someone to talk to who is outside your family or social circle can be very helpful. An “outside mind,” someone who has some emotional distance from what is going on, can help provide perspective. In various kinds of emotional situations, it’s easy to get caught up in a particular way of looking at something.
Depression treatment can help you regain perspective and be able to feel both pleasurable and painful feelings. In sessions, you can learn better ways of coping and managing negative feelings, thoughts and perceptions so you don’t end up stifling them or expressing them in destructive ways.
Typically during an initial session, as we talk about what is going on, I will get some sense of what you’re dealing with, while you will get a sense of how I think and work. This gives us a chance to see if we’re a good fit. At that point, we can figure out how to best move forward.
In depression treatment I can help you learn how to step back and look at different aspects that you weren’t aware of before, which can be very useful in managing feelings. Most of us can get caught up in seeing things in a particular way. Getting someone else’s input can help us broaden our awareness and regain a more balanced perspective.
In therapy, I can also help you learn to identify and explore self-defeating patterns that may be standing in your way of connecting with others and having a healthy, fulfilling life. I can help you develop new problem-solving strategies, like thinking through your feelings before jumping to conclusions or taking action, which can help you avoid problematic responses.
I’ve been helping people deal with depression for over 30 years. I’ve seen first-hand how helpful it can be, even transformative, allowing people to reclaim a sense of joy and meaning in their lives.
If I’m Depressed, Does That Mean I Need Depression Medication?
Many people find that talking about feelings in therapy helps lift depression symptoms and that medications aren’t necessary. For others, when depressive symptoms are severe, depression medications may help to turn the volume down on painful feelings so that they can be more effectively addressed with depression treatment. Often people find that medication and therapy together help change attitudes and behaviors that were making them feel depressed in the first place. While I don’t prescribe medications, I work closely with prescribing doctors to coordinate therapy and medication management.
Common Concerns People Can Have
I’m so depressed I can’t get out of bed. How can depression treatment help me?
I start treatment with people where they are. If depression is so severe that you can’t come to my office, we can start working together remotely by video or phone.
I’m afraid of getting overwhelmed emotionally if I start talking about what I’m really feeling.
I can help you learn how to express feelings in “manageable doses” so you don’t get overwhelmed, and to eventually learn not to be afraid of your feelings.
I feel that nothing is going to help me.
That’s the depression talking. Taking the first step is the hardest. Once we start talking together you will start to see a way forward.
You Don’t Have to be Controlled by Depression Anymore
Setting up an initial consultation is usually a good way to see if I can be of help to you. Please contact me by clicking the link below. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have or set up an appointment.