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 can mean different things to different people, some common features include:
Emotional symptoms such as sadness, low mood, loss of pleasure from previously enjoyable experiences.
Physical symptoms such as disturbed sleep, either decreased or increased eating compared to your normal pattern
Motivational symptoms may include apathy, loss of drive, or the sense of 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 feeling like you've lost something but having no clue when or where you last had it. Then one day you realize what you lost is yourself."
What Causes Depression?
There are a range of factors which may contribute to someone developing depression. These may include:
Having a family history of depression 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.
The absence of close, confiding relationships has been highlighted as a key ‘vulnerability factor’, which might also increase susceptibility to depression.
Personal Psychological Factors emerging from your personal history and life experiences.
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 shape how a person sees their life, and the world they 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 you already know which have led to your depression.
By considering new awarenesses and understandings of your depression which can emerge from an exploration of your personal history and relationships.
"It's not the feeling of completeness I need, but the feeling of not being empty."
Getting Started
There really is help available. You don’t have to suffer on your own with depression.
I can be contacted by email or phone, and am usually able to respond on the same day to your query, We can then schedule an initial session to explore how to begin to understand your depression and help you to work through it.
Alternatively you can go to my Online Booking Service to see the days and times I currently have available and request a booking there. I will then confirm the booking with you by email.
