Are You Struggling With Sadness, Self-Blame And Feelings Of Failure?
Does it often feel like you’re standing back looking at your life rather than engaging in it? Are negative thoughts, distressing emotions and uncomfortable physical symptoms making it hard to stay focused? Do you feel so overwhelmed with life that you have lost hope and motivation—making it impossible to get moving at all? Maybe days seem bleak and endless, and you feel like crying all the time. Or perhaps you constantly berate yourself over perceived failures, such as letting loved ones down and/or not achieving goals. You may feel trapped, unable to make choices and decisions, and caught in a no-win situation. It might be that you isolate yourself in an effort to avoid burdening others with your misery. Perhaps you worry that you are cursed to suffer depression because it’s ‘in the family.’ Maybe you no longer see the point in anything and often just want to give up. Do you wish that the little things could matter again and that you could find meaning in your life?
Living with depression can be a lonely, isolating and distressing experience. The physical symptoms of depression, such as fatigue, aches and pains, tension and changes to eating and sleeping patterns, may make it even harder to engage in everyday tasks and activities you once enjoyed. You may live in a prison of guilt, shame and self-attacks. Alcohol, drugs or food may numb the pain for a while, but, in the long-term you, you hate yourself for using these substances and feel even worse. While you want to feel that your life is worth living again, you worry that it’s impossible. Cloaked in a shroud of doom you cycle through worry, hopelessness and sadness, seeing no way out of this hell.
You Are Not Alone
If you’re struggling with generalized, situational or clinical depression or symptoms of depression, you are not alone. One in four people will experience depression at some point in life, and currently 10 percent of the American population suffer from some form of depression. Yet, because of the shame and guilt that so often comes with feeling low, few people talk openly about their depression experience, and most suffer silently. And, even more often, many people are misdiagnosed and/or go undiagnosed – suffering unnecessarily for years until a therapist diagnoses and treats their depression.
Some people are biologically predisposed to develop depression. Others experience depression in the midst of major, upsetting life events, such as trauma, grief and loss and other external, stressful experiences. However, sometimes depression seems to come out of nowhere, but it’s really a sign that your psyche being overwhelmed with emotional traumas that have gone unexpressed and unprocessed.
Whether due to internal or external factors, the psyche has a way of shutting down when we’re not managing challenging emotional experiences well, and depression can come on as a sort of withdrawal from life so that you can begin dealing with all the stuff you have avoided in the past. Essentially, when we’re trying to handle more than our systems want to tolerate—whether it be internally, externally or often both—the psyche steps in, literally de-pressing the mind and body, and providing a kind of “out.”
The good news is that the symptoms of depression—pulling away, less enjoyment, losing confidence, feeling incapable, experiencing everyday activities as if they are monumental chores and the wish to escape among others—can alert you that something is wrong and point you to what needs your attention. And, while it may feel challenging to break free of the heaviness pulling you down right now, it is entirely possible to do so. A compassionate, skilled and experienced depression therapist can help you get to the root of your depression and connect to your innate resiliency, strength and self-worth.
Depression Counseling Can Provide You With Support, Guidance, Insight And Relief
Research shows that depression treatment can be highly effective. And, if you want to heal and truly feel better about yourself, I can help. In safe, warm and confidential sessions, I can help you get to the root of your depression, work through emotional traumas and start believing that you matter and are worthy of love and care.
In depression therapy sessions, we can explore your tendency to feel guilty and punish yourself with critical thoughts, leading to hopelessness. Together, we can explore the nature of your life experiences that produced this harsh, persistent inner critic. As we work through the complicated and painful experiences and lost wishes that have brought you down, you’ll understand how you came to be in this awful, scary place.
In sessions, I can help you can gain insight into the triggers that set off your depressive symptoms so that you can deal with problems before they take over and paralyze your soul. Depression therapy cleans out the debris of old scar tissue, enabling you to heal and thrive. You can begin identifying and building upon your innate strengths, talents, capabilities and gifts. You’ll recognize and tap into your authentic value, motivating you to feel good about taking care of yourself. Then you can make realistic, practical changes that lead to sustainable healing and relief.
In the safe and trusting therapeutic relationship that we’ll develop, you can begin to feel that you matter, which can be especially important if you’ve never felt that way in a relationship with another. In our sessions, I am 100 percent there with you in the room, and I offer a caring and supportive experience built on trust and safety. You and I, together, will put you back together in a stronger, more confident and energized form.
Regardless of how bad you’re feeling, it’s important to know that healing, growth, personal discovery and relief truly are possible. If you commit to working openly and honestly with a depression therapist, you can recover from depression and experience long-term relief. It is possible to genuinely feel good about yourself and feel your life force return. You can rekindle desire, feel motivated to engage in simple pleasures again and, at your very core, know that your life does have meaning and that you are going to be okay.
You still may have questions and concerns about depression counseling…
I’ve tried everything and nothing has helped me feel any better.
If you’ve tried everything and not felt better, it’s likely making you feel cynical and powerless. But, there is a part of you that wants to participate in the world feeling that you belong in a purposeful way. The one thing that you may not have tried yet is depression therapy that goes deep into your dark place, cleaning it out and bringing you lightness and brightness.
Your depression is likely stemming from something inside of you that remains unresolved under layers of scar tissue. There is no magic pill. In depression therapy sessions, I can help you get to the root cause of your depression. Together, we’ll work out the puzzle of your symptoms and rebuild/create the “you” that feels authentic and free of guilt, shame, self-blame and sadness.
Therapy seems indulgent and like too much time and money to spend on myself.
The fact that you’re reading this is an indication that there is some part of you that truly wants to feel cared for, seen, heard and understood. That part of you thinks it’s worth spending money on depression counseling. That part of you is begging you to take action and rescue your depressed self so that it can join the other, more stable parts of you and bring you harmony and pride in yourself. Regardless of how bad you feel right now, you can come out of the cave equipped to be a vital and vibrant player in the world. In depression therapy sessions, I hold a compassionate space in which you can share anything and everything without fear of judgment or criticism. I validate your experience of depression and help you resolve the feelings of guilt, shame and low self-worth that have made you feel unworthy of investing in yourself. We can work closely and collaboratively to rebuild your self-esteem and tolerate any discomforts that arise together. You are not alone in this.
Why go through the time and expense of therapy when I could just take an antidepressant?
Medication is a depression treatment option, but it’s important to note that antidepressants cause unwanted side effects and often take a while to start working. And, while you may experience some symptom relief, research has shown that the effects are no better than placebo! Medication does not prevent relapse, nor does it resolve the root issues, such as guilt, shame, trauma and self-loathing, that fuel depression. Unlike a pill, therapy can help you better understand and reconstruct your inner world so you can truly feel happy and confident within yourself and experience long-term, sustainable relief.
You Can Live With Lightness, Levity And Ease
You don’t have to continue trying to navigate sadness, feelings of overwhelm and other distressing symptoms of depression on your own. I invite you to take the next step and call my office at 310-985-2491 to schedule an initial appointment. Your happiness is an investment that matters.