Depression Therapy
Is Depression Compromising Your Quality Of Life?
Do you consistently feel sad or low?
Is a sense of emptiness causing you to feel directionless, unmotivated, or hopeless?
Have you lost interest in things that give your life purpose and joy?
It’s normal to experience sadness and a dip in energy from time to time. But as these feelings become increasingly persistent and dominant, it’s important to consider if your symptoms indicate depression.
Beyond a “low” mood, depression may present with physical symptoms like lethargy and chronic pain, often made worse with the use of substances. Depression can also impact your sleep patterns, making it difficult to feel refreshed and ready to take on the day.
Of course, as symptoms begin affecting your mood and energy levels, it can become increasingly challenging to fully participate in life. You may not be able to engage with your work or other responsibilities as effectively as you’d like. Or perhaps you’ve lost interest in being social and participating in activities you once enjoyed. Low self-esteem is common among those struggling with depression, and it can be difficult to escape a negative and self-critical mindset.
Fortunately, depression is highly treatable. As you work to identify underlying factors and build an individualized toolkit for coping, you can recapture a zeal for life.
Depression Has A Way Of Making Us Feel Alone In Our Suffering, But It’s Actually A Widespread Condition
Though symptoms can be profoundly isolating, the truth is that depression affects a substantial portion of the population. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 5 percent of adults worldwide experience depression. And while depression can affect a wide range of individuals spanning age, race, socioeconomic status, and life experience, it’s considered quite a bit more common among women than men (especially when taking into consideration rates of postpartum depression). [1]
Symptoms can develop due to a genetic predisposition or an adverse circumstance. There is never just one single cause for depression, and many factors—including family history, stress, drug and alcohol use, and significant life transitions—can play a role in triggering symptoms. For this reason, many individuals seek medication to correct the chemical imbalance caused by depression.
However, research shows that therapy (whether in conjunction with medication or not) is the most effective treatment for depression. Because mental health counseling offers customized coping strategies and a nonjudgmental, supportive ear, it’s likely to have a longer lasting effect on reducing symptoms than just medication alone.
Unfortunately, many of those suffering from depression don’t seek therapy, possibly because they are afraid to ask for help or think they should just tolerate symptoms on their own. But as a therapist, I am here to tell you that seeking treatment for depression takes strength and dedication. Working together, we can explore your emotions and experiences in a way that will offer new levels of self-understanding, insight, and healing.
Therapy Can Transform Your Mindset And Reduce Symptoms Of Depression
It's great to have someone in our family or social circle that we can turn to on a bad day, but therapists are uniquely trained to identify and treat symptoms of depression. I design the counseling space to be an atmosphere where you can openly explore and discuss your concerns so that we can create an actionable plan that will ultimately help reduce the negative impact that depression has had on your life.
What To Expect
I aim to make the therapeutic process client-led, meaning I will let you determine what you want to work on in counseling. Whether you are looking for a safe space to untangle past trauma, develop skills for adjusting your mindset and attitude, or simply vent, I will customize treatment to your needs.
Generally speaking, the goal of therapy will be to increase your energy level and capacity for activity so that life can feel more manageable again. In doing this, I will learn more about what has brought you joy and motivation in the past, and offer ideas for incorporating these elements into your daily routine. I may also provide you with mindfulness exercises so that you can create awareness around the situations that trigger your symptoms.
With focused effort and the support of a therapist, it is possible to overcome depression. I am confident that whether or not you incorporate medication into treatment, I can offer skills and perspectives that will meaningfully reduce your depression symptoms. Working together in therapy, we can find ways to make your stressors, responsibilities, relationships, and everyday life more manageable.
Still Unsure If Therapy For Depression Is Right For You?
Counseling is new to me, and I am worried about what to expect.
I understand your concern and realize that new experiences can trigger a sense of anxiety. If you are worried about what to expect, I encourage you to think of therapy sessions as a gentle, welcoming conversation with another person who is specially trained to recognize and treat your symptoms.
It’s also helpful to keep in mind that there is no long-term commitment when it comes to counseling; if I am not the right fit as your therapist or if you want to try other treatment methods for managing depression, I am happy to provide you with referrals and resources.
I’ve dealt with depression for so long that I’m not sure how therapy can help.
While I cannot guarantee any specific results, I can tell you that from my firsthand experience working with clients, talk therapy can be remarkably helpful in reducing symptoms of depression. Moreover, studies show that not only can therapeutic treatment improve your quality of life right now—it can help to prevent depressive episodes in the future. [2]
Even though you have been struggling with this issue for a long time, you deserve a happy, healthy, manageable life.
I don’t have time for counseling.
I am confident that if you can make time to prioritize yourself through therapy, you will experience many benefits throughout your life. By learning concrete skills to increase your resilience and improve your mindset, you will enhance your relationships, work performance, and overall quality of life.
There Is Hope
If symptoms of depression have compromised your energy level, self-esteem, or relationships with others, individualized therapy through my practice can offer solutions. To learn more about how I can help, contact me.
[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression#:~:text=An%20estimated%203.8%25%20of%20the,among%20women%20than%20among%20men.
[2]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430661/#:~:text=Psychological%20treatment%20can%20help%20to,what%20is%20causing%20the%20symptoms.
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