Psychotherapy for Depression
Making sense of depression, finding its origin and working out ways to feel better
What Is Depression?
Depression is a word that is often used to describe mood problems but what exactly is depression?
While it cam mean different things to different people, some common features include
Emotional symptoms such as sadness, low moods, loss of pleasure from previously enjoyable experiences.
Physical symptoms such as disturbed sleep, and either decreased or increased eating compared to your normal pattern.
Motivational symptoms may include apathy, loss of drive or the sense if sitting around and waiting for something to happen.
Cognitive symptoms such as negative self-thoughts, loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, inability to concentrate, suicidal thoughts and feelings of despair and hopelessness.
"Depression is like feeling that you've lost something but having no clue when or where you last had it. Then one day you realise that what you have lost is yourself: (Unknown)
Causes of Depression
A combination of factors may contribute to someone developing depression.
Some of the following may apply to you:
- You have a family history of depression and this may lead to you having an increased susceptibility to it. This could be because of biological inheritance, or learned ways of behaving and reacting to difficulties in life.
- You may lack close confiding relationships. Lacking such relationships has been highlighted as a key 'vulnerability factor' which might increase susceptibility to depression.
- Personal Psychological Factors may emerge from your personal history and life experiences which heighten your vulnerability to suffer from depression.
Help for Depression
People feel depressed and react the way they do for very real and meaningful reasons. Past events as well as current circumstances may shape how you see your life and the world you live in.
Psychotherapy can help get to the root of these reasons and help you work through your difficulties in several different ways:
By providing a safe and supportive environment to explore the myriad of personal experiences which have contributed to your unique expression of depression.
By exploring emotions, as well as physical, motivational and cognitive symptoms. These may reveal feelings you are not aware of, or unconscious elements which have led to your depression, as well as reasons that you already know have lead to your depression.
By considering awarenesses and understandings of your depression which can emerge from an exploration of your persona history and relationships.
"It is not the feeling of completeness I need, but the feeling of not being empty" (Jonathan Safran Foer)
Getting Started
There really is help available. You don't have to suffer on your own with depression
You can contact me by email or by phone at 07891 613580. I am usually able to respond the same day to you query. We can then schedule an initial session to explore how to begin to understand your depression and help you to work through it.