Are Feelings Of Despair Cutting You Off From The Rest Of The World?
Does it seem like you’re no longer finding pleasure in the things you used to love? Are you unmotivated at work and withdrawing from your friends and family? Do you feel disconnected from your life but unsure what you can do about it?
When you’re suffering from depression, it can feel like you’re the loneliest person on the planet. It may seem to you like no one understands what dealing with depression is like—the pit of despair that swallows you up and keeps you down—or how it feels to struggle with it day after day.
The symptoms of depression may be affecting you physically, for example, you’re either sleeping too much or, perhaps, not enough, so you’re waking up exhausted. Your appetite could also be impacted, resulting in rapid weight gain or weight loss, neither of which is healthy. Perhaps you’re often distracted and lack concentration, ruminating on sad and negative thoughts instead of focusing on the task at hand. You might also feel anxious since depression and anxiety are often interconnected.
Moreover, you might feel sad and hopeless most of the time, causing you to isolate yourself from others, which only makes you feel worse. These negative emotions could be affecting your performance at work or impacting your relationships. Nevertheless, because you’re still able to get up every morning and face the world, you may not even realize that you’re coping with depression. This sort of “walking depression” is insidious—you’re forcing yourself to “do” life and pretend all is well—but deep down you know something isn’t right.
The good news is, depression treatment is an effective way to address the root of what’s been causing you to feel stuck in hopelessness and find a path back to connection and contentment.
Depression Can Affect Us Throughout Our Lives
Regardless of what stage in life we find ourselves in or what circumstances we face, depression is a common mood disorder. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “More than 19 million U.S. adults—nearly 8% of the population—had at least one major depressive episode in the past year. People of all ages and all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds experience depression, but it does affect some groups more than others.”
There are many reasons underlying depression. It could stem from a lack of connection with our parents or caretakers, ourselves, or others. Past trauma could be haunting our present day, even though we may not identify it as such. It’s common for us to adopt an “everything was fine growing up” attitude, minimizing the emotional neglect we may have suffered as children. However, just because our upbringing wasn’t as bad as what we’ve heard others have experienced, we may still be coping with underlying trauma that is causing our depression.
Another common reason for depression could be a life change that’s occurred that we thought would bring us happiness but instead has led to isolation and uncertainty. For example, when we move to another part of the country (or world) to start a new job, we may think of it as the solution to life’s problems; however, oftentimes it’s not what we thought it would be. It all sounds good on paper until we realize that setting our lives up in a way that we “think” will make us happy doesn’t always work out that way. After achieving a life goal, we can end up feeling even more isolated and restless than before.
Fortunately, you can return to a feeling of connection. Once you commit to therapy, you can alleviate the symptoms of depression and rediscover the joy in life again.
Depression Treatment Can Help Lift The Cloak Of Sadness
As a licensed mental health counselor, my goal is for us to work collaboratively to identify the core issues you’re facing. We will seek to understand how you arrived at this place and work together to find you a path to a more fulfilling life. Seeking help for your depression gives you a place to explore its root causes within a safe environment where you will be heard with empathy and understanding.
During our first session together, I will take time getting to know you and your struggles, easing you into the process. Before you begin sharing details about yourself, I will ensure you’re feeling comfortable and at ease. I will initially get to know you by asking you questions, for example, what you like about yourself, what you’re good at, and what’s brought you into therapy. If it was a specific event we’ll discuss the level of impact it’s had on you.
In ongoing sessions, we will work together to help you create relationships based on honesty and respect. We can also set goals to identify anything that may be missing from your life, whether it be friendships, loving relationships, life fulfillment, self-awareness of your likes and dislikes, and perhaps a direction for where you want your life to be heading.
As we continue to work together, you will learn and practice skills relevant to your needs, for example, identifying unhelpful thoughts and looking at them through a different lens, processing any unaddressed grief or trauma, facing your fears, communication skills, relaxation techniques, making changes to your social or work life, resolving conflict, and working to connect with others.
My strategy for treating depression is a multi-modal approach to therapy that draws from various techniques—including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Attachment, and Polyvagal theories—as well as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). I will customize your treatment based upon your specific needs, addressing the core issues we identify together.
If your depression is trauma-related (past experiences, unresolved conflicts, or unhealed wounds) we can utilize EMDR and/or explore your pain with other effective treatments. If instead your depression is related to your relationships, we will explore your interpersonal dynamics and explore your relationship skills—such as communication and conflict resolution skills—so you can learn how to build strong social networks with others.
Treatment for depression can help ease any stress, loneliness, or isolation you’re experiencing and give you a new perspective on how to tackle problems in life when they arise. When you seek help, it can feel like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders. You will be able to gain an understanding of yourself and the world around you so everything in your life feels lighter.
But you may still be wondering whether depression treatment is right for you…
Depression is something I can will myself out of—I must just be lazy.
Not true—depression is a real mood disorder and its effects can be debilitating. When we are dealing with depression, we all deserve help and a space to be heard with compassion, support, and kindness. Seeking treatment for depression can help you manage the hard times in your life, replace harmful beliefs and behaviors with healthier ones, and set life goals that will keep you on track.
I’m afraid of being judged and not really listened to,
When you’re seeking out therapy for depression, it’s important to choose the right therapist. You should ask a lot of questions, make your wants and needs clear, and trust your gut. I believe in open communication with my clients and am here to listen without judgment. If you disagree or are concerned at any time, just say so and we will talk through it. It’s always an interactive process.
Isn’t therapy expensive? What if my insurance doesn’t cover it?
It’s helpful if you can confirm that you have out-of-network benefits before we get underway with therapy. I am happy to provide you with a superbill receipt that you can present to your insurance company for partial reimbursement of therapy costs. But even though you may pay out of pocket, you should seek out therapy all the same. Your mental health is too important not to address it.
Overcoming Depression Will Give You A Fresh Outlook On Life
Once you realize you’re not responsible for everything in the world, only yourself, the puzzle pieces will begin to fall into place and life will no longer feel as challenging as it once did. For a free, 15-minute consultation, please contact me.