Perhaps you can remember a time when you felt much better, when you had energy and enjoyed yourself at work, in relationships or had fun? You were engaged in your life, felt connected to yourself and others in a meaningful way. Something changed, perhaps a relationship or a job ended. Or maybe you always felt different, sensitive, or alone in a foggy way. You try your best to make contact, to feel accepted, a part of, yet something seems missing. You wonder what it is? Talk therapy can help you connect to yourself and others in the long run. In the short term you may feel some relief in speaking and feeling heard.
Depression can feel like you are pulling your body and mind up a steep hill, leaving you feeling disengaged from yourself and others. When you are depressed, time can feel slow and strange. You can also experience a sense of despair or hopelessness. Psychotherapy for depression is not just talk, its an opportunity for you to speak to someone about all of the difficulties you experience in your depression. For some people talk therapy has proven to be essential for overcoming depression. You deserve to live with hope, desire, and a sense of purpose, and to engage in ways that are meaningful to you.
Like many people who struggle with depression, you may have faced turbulence or trauma at some point in your life. A depressive response to turbulence and trauma can cloud your access to the emotional resources that help you live more fully—access to a full range of feelings, strengths, and ways of coping. Behind your depression lies a well of emotional sustenance and life force, but depression often smothers this vital energy. Psychotherapy can help you to regain your vital energy.
Many people with depression try to push through with thoughts like, “I just need to be more positive,” or “I should be stronger, more disciplined.” They often think that willpower alone can push them past their depressed thoughts and feelings. But even after an effort to pull up your bootstraps, it can feel like nothing has changed. The truth is, depression isn’t something you can overcome with strength or positive thinking alone. It’s a complex symptom that requires a multi-faceted therapeutic response.
The good news is that there is hope. Depression treatment can help you get to the heart of what’s holding you back.When you reach the root of your struggles with depression, sometimes you find there are anxieties about the very change that you long for. At other times, you may realize that you are afraid of being rejected by others if you become more vital. Whatever the root issues are, it is essential to encounter and name them, so as to find a way forward. You don’t have to fight against yourself. You deserve to live with a full range of emotions and access your own strength.