Have You Lost Your Joy?
You’re feeling more negative than positive these days. You might be sad, but not necessarily. What’s clear is that your thoughts are muddled by self-criticism, doubt, and uncertainty. Motivation is difficult to find. Come to think of it, you’re not even participating in activities you used to enjoy.
Your sleep or eating might be off. It’s almost like there’s this weight pushing down on you. Energy and motivation are hard to come by. Even everyday tasks feel daunting. Everything feels monumental.
It could be depression.
Facts About Depression
Depression can be isolating, but it’s not unique. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 21 million adults have had at least one major depressive episode in their lives. The numbers are higher for women, adolescents, and those who are mixed race.
Depression can manifest as a single episode or recurrent episodes and is coded as mild, moderate, or severe. In bipolar disorder, depressive episodes alternate with periods of manic symptoms, including euphoria, increased self-esteem, irritability, increased activity or energy, racing thoughts, and a decreased need for sleep.
Depression, which is much more than everyday sadness or moodiness, can seriously impact our functioning, causing impairments at school, work, and in the family. It can cause us to pull back from loved ones, activities, and ourselves. At its worse, depression can result in suicidal thinking and behavior. Over 700,000 die by suicide each year.
But you don’t have to continue to suffer. Help is available here.
Depression Therapy At Gatewell
With the right therapy, you can experience a reduction in your symptoms and start to get back on track. At Gatewell Therapy Center, our depression counselors have worked with mood disorders at all levels of care and are skilled in the most effective interventions. Life doesn’t have to be so difficult.
What To Expect
Your first appointment is an opportunity for us to get to know you better. We’ll want to understand what you’re experiencing, and we’re curious about the triggers and causes of your depression. We’ll ask about your symptoms, how long you’ve been experiencing them, and what you’ve tried so far. As part of our assessment, we might have you complete self-report measures, such as the PHQ-9, to get a better sense of your symptoms and their severity. Following this meeting, we’ll be able to come up with a plan that works for you.
How We Can Help With Your Depression
- Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps you challenge some of the thoughts associated with your depression and helps you work toward getting you up, moving, and interacting with others
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which is a skills-based therapy particularly effective in addressing treatment-resistant depression
Counseling for depression might also help you understand how certain childhood or familial experiences affect how you think and feel today. In some cases, we might recommend medication, as the combination of therapy and medication seems to lead to the most effective outcomes.
But You Might Still Have Concerns About Starting Depression Therapy. . .
I’m sure my depression is related to childhood experiences/trauma, but I don’t really feel like getting into that. It could make things worse.
You don’t have to. In your therapy, you’re an active member and decision-maker in the process. While depression can sometimes (at least partially) stem from childhood circumstances/trauma, we can certainly focus on what’s going on now – how you’re thinking, feeling, and acting – to target your depression without getting into older stuff. . . unless you want to.
I know some people who go to therapy for years and years for their depression. I don’t want that.
The good news is that our evidence-based interventions at Gatewell are generally solution-oriented and time-limited. We use techniques that can help you now, not years down the road.
I don’t have much hope about anything helping at this point.
We understand. That’s actually part of the depression to feel hopeless about anything helping or working. Know that we’ve worked with countless people just like you and have seen them make progress despite their initial hopelessness. You don’t have to have hope; we have some for you.
Depression Therapy Can Help You Find Your Spark Again
Depression often involves a loss of your spark for living. Whether it’s joy or energy or motivation, how you once were gets clouded by a heavy force that presses down on you, creating sadness, slowness, and lethargy. Depression therapy at Gatewell Therapy Center can help free you from the forces weighing you down. There is life after depression, and it can be filled with enjoyment, satisfaction, energy, and initiative. Contact us to schedule your first appointment.