Depression Therapy
Are You Tired Of Feeling Sad And Overwhelmed All The Time?
Do you feel hopeless about the future? Are you struggling with a lack of motivation and loss of interest in the things you once enjoyed? Does it feel like you’re carrying a burden everywhere you go?
Maybe you feel numb and affectless, disconnected from your own life. Spending time with friends and family may no longer excite you, so you say no to social outings and keep to yourself. Perhaps you feel overwhelmed and sad all the time, like you’re always ready to burst into tears. You may ask yourself: Do I have depression? Will I feel this way forever?
Other People May Not Understand Your Struggles With Depression
When you’re dealing with depression, just getting out of bed can be a massive struggle. You may feel unable to function in daily life and concentrate on what you have to do. Perhaps you have trouble performing at work and call out sick all the time. Maybe you’ve been so isolated that your friendships are starting to slip away.
On the other hand, perhaps you’re dealing with high-functioning depression and you’re not even sure if you’re depressed. You may be able to function well from day to day, but deep down, you feel listless and uninterested, like you’re just going through the motions of life. When something good happens, you may ask: why can’t I feel happy? Why do I feel so indifferent to everything?
If this is how you feel, I encourage you to connect with me. Depression treatment is a chance to regain your sense of motivation and reconnect with who you really are.
Depression Is The Norm In A World Of Unrealistic Expectations
Our society is rife with unrealistic expectations about how our lives should look like in terms of career, romantic relationships, parenting, body image, material possessions, social life… And in the wake of a global pandemic, when the economy is awry and many people have been forced to isolate, these expectations are particularly hard to navigate.
It’s only natural, then, that clinical depression is on the rise. Roughly 32-percent of adults in the US suffered from symptoms of depression in 2021, as compared to 8.5-percent before the pandemic (1). Unable to meet the impossibly high standards of American culture, many people worry that their lives will never mount to anything.
(1) https://www.brown.edu/news/2021-10-05/pandemic-depression
Depression Usually Goes Hand In Hand With Low Self-Esteem
Oftentimes, depression is closely linked with low self-esteem and feelings of shame. This may appear as that small voice telling you that you’re not smart enough, slim enough, rich enough, or simply just not good enough.
Low self-esteem may start to develop early in life, as we learn from those closest to us how to be in relationships. For example, there may have been a young, vulnerable part of you that was considered to be “too loud,” “too difficult,” or “too sensitive” by a caregiver. If this part of you was repeatedly met with anger, rejection, or dismissal, you may have learned that sharing certain emotions was unacceptable and that you were fundamentally ‘bad’ for having them. These feelings of shame and unworthiness may still follow you today. You may have even tried to escape them through different coping behaviors such as drinking, drugs, excessive eating or shopping, but these habits usually just invite more of the same feelings.
To truly find relief from depression, you have to go beyond temporary quick fixes. Depression therapy with me is an opportunity to do just that. With my support, you can gain insight into what’s driving your symptoms, learn how to treat depression, and figure out how to transform self-defeating patterns into positive actions.
Depression Treatment Is A Chance To Reconnect With Your Body And Tune In To Your Emotions
The hallmark of depression is disconnection. Depression can make you tune out your feelings and also disconnect from your body. This is a protective measure— the numbness and disinterest you feel is a safeguard against painful emotions. However, to manage your depression more effectively, you have to learn to reconnect with your body and get back in touch with your feelings.
Therapy is a time to tune in to your internal world, allowing you to untangle the root causes of your depression. Although a huge part of the healing process is a dialogue between you and me, treatment is so much more than having a conversation. Talk therapy is not powerful enough to alleviate depression, since it ignores depression’s impact on your embodied experience. That’s why my approach goes deeper than talk therapy, looking at how depression manifests in both your mind and body.
What To Expect In Sessions
The guiding philosophy of my practice is defined by the acronym S.E.E.D. The S stands for slow down—life is full of chatter and chaos and therapy is a chance to slow down and make time for reflection. The first E stands for embody, since therapy can help you reconnect with your body and listen to what it says about your depression. The next E stands for explore, as depression treatment is a process of figuring out which parts of you hold depression and why. Finally, the D stands for direct—once you’ve gained clarity on the sources of your depression, you can direct that knowledge to practice new skills and make positive changes in your life.
What these skills look like varies from client to client. Generally speaking, the skills I teach are about ways to reconnect with your whole self. Oftentimes this means starting from the body—learning how to befriend it and listening to different parts of it, such as breath, movement, and rhythm. Some parts of the body may have more to share through embodied experience than the mind could share through talk therapy.
Tailoring Your Treatment Plan
At the foundation of my practice is a transpersonal approach called Internal Family Systems (IFS). The goal of IFS is to help you look at the many different parts of yourself that contribute to depression. For instance, you may have a harsh inner self-critic that tells you that you’ll never be good enough. Or there may be a part of you that wants to numb your feelings through substance use. IFS can help you befriend these parts and give them space to share their stories. Doing so can help you learn to balance your inner world so that you experience harmony between all of your parts.
By exploring the different parts of your depression and reconnecting with your body, I believe you can live with more clarity and peace of mind. My goal is to help you figure out what solutions work for you and use your newfound awareness to cultivate growth and healing.
You May Have Some Questions About Depression Treatment…
Shouldn’t I just take medication?
Medication can be helpful in treating depression, but it is not a substitute for therapy. Antidepressants can certainly boost your mood, but they can’t equip you with new skills or give you new insights. Therapy can help you do the deeper work, getting to the root cause of your depression so that you don’t have to rely on quick fixes.
Why can’t I just figure out depression alone?
Many of us resign ourselves to less-than-helpful ways of caring for our mental health, such as drugs, drinking, and other numbing behaviors. As a therapist, I am here to help you uncover the root cause of your depression so that you don’t have to rely on these less-than-helpful solutions. After all, if you had a physical ailment, you would probably seek a doctor instead of depending on your own strength. I encourage you to view your mental health in the same light—seeking help for emotional wounds is no different than seeking help for physical wounds.
Am I obligated to change things in my life? What if I don’t want to?
You don’t have to change anything in your life if you don’t want to. I’m not here to tell you what to do—I simply want to help you get to discover what changes are best for you. I am here as a guide and a resource, but you’re in the driver’s seat of the healing process.
Let Me Help You Reconnect With Your Empowered Self
With my help and support, I believe you can get to the root of your struggles and live with more confidence and serenity. To get started, visit the Contact page to fill out a contact form or text or call me at 831-759-5055.
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