Depression

Some depression is not easy to overcome.

There are many causes of depression, and each person may have different underlying reasons for their depression.

Some depression may be the result of abuse experienced in childhood, the loss of a loved one, transitions in life, or a genetic predisposition for depression. Often depression is fueled by feelings that people try to ward off.

Identifying the underlying cause is the first step in helping one process the depression and respond differently to the initial cause of the depression.

Therapy can help a person struggling with depression learn skills for coping with and overcoming the initial cause or causes of their depression. Below is an example from my work with a client suffering from depression.

George* constantly struggled with depression.

George had difficulty getting out of bed; everything felt hopeless, the sky seemed grey, and nothing mattered. His job felt like a dead end.

Everything he did took so much energy that he didn’t have. George watched everyone else living their lives while he felt stuck.

He avoided people and events, had difficulty concentrating, hardly ate, and found little pleasure even in his once favorite TV series.

To escape his emptiness, George slept any chance he could. At this point, he felt his depressed state would continue forever and even contemplated taking his life.

Therapy was the answer George sought.

For those struggling with depression, therapy helps them understand the feelings that fuel depression. I use the RAIN intervention to help my clients. This modality promotes self-compassion for those struggling with insecurities brought on by depression. More information about this intervention is available at the following site: https://www.tarabrach.com/rain-practice-radical-compassion/

Through this intervention, George could access parts of himself that he didn’t know were there. In addition, after RAIN, we used EMDR to understand George’s symptoms, helping him realize that current events reminded him of an earlier time that triggered his depression.

Once George accessed the earlier time and reprocessed it, the heavy weight of depression started to lift. He applied for new jobs, things excited him again, and he realized he was living for what other people wanted all along – not who he indeed was. He started to live his truth; for the first time since he could remember, he experienced feelings of joy.

Don’t let depression keep you down and rule your life. Therapy helped George, and it can help you, too. Together, we can work to help you reduce the effects of triggers and learn to reprocess how events cause your depression.

Contact me today – and let’s get started.

*Name and story do not reflect an actual client.