Depression
What is Depression?
Depression is not one thing, contrary to popular belief depression is not well understood even amongst professionals. We professionals cluster several symptoms together to identify what is called depression such as, feelings of worthlessness, lack of enjoyment in life, low energy, unusual appetite, disorganized thinking, memory difficulty, overwhelming negative mood, the list goes on and on and on. My professional view of depression is that it is a sort of catch-all way our brain and body respond to any number of things that are not quite right. I will always be responsive to your feelings of depression no matter the cause or appearance of symptoms. Depression is a serious concern that may take a long time to get a handle on, and I will work closely with you to uncover the factors that influence your feelings of depression no matter how unclear they seem.
How do we treat Depression?
Alongside medication a good approach to depression can take the form of talk therapy. In treating depression I will be first and foremost a source of lasting empathy and support. Unfortunately depression does not get better overnight no matter how we treat it. Life is hard and in the therapy room we will work hard to make it a little easier. Similar to treating anxiety we can take a cognitive behavioral approach by working through patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that have become less than helpful overtime. Working to reframe the thinking process, and combat negative self talk and negative worldviews we can interrupt the automatic bias that our brain is feeding the rest of our system. Secondly, acknowledging with kindness and neutrality our feelings to disrupt sadness and depression spirals. Finally, a strong behavioral activation approach to treating depression has been shown to be the most effective aspect of depression treatment. By establishing routines of new ways to engage with your life and developing patterns of meaningful growth we can identify concrete routes out of depression habits.