Some useful information
People tend to have different relationships with the term “Depression”. Some people take comfort in the term and some have an aversion to it. I use it here only to describe certain attributes that are common to people struggling with negative thoughts, low mood and low energy. The causes of a depression are wide and varied. We could have learnt as children to see ourselves and the world in a bleak manner. It also can come from a very form a traumatic event like a bereavement, relationship breakdown, or a loss of job and financial struggles. If we have difficulty adjusting to these kinds of external struggles, and maybe judge ourselves or the situation to harshly, Then this can bring our energy down, our thinking becomes negative, our emotions and body go into a collapse, leaving us feeling:
Sad
Full of despair
Self-critical
Shameful
Guilty
Angry but may have difficulty expressing it
Struggling to focus
Lack of interest in pleasurable activities
Apathy or no conscious awareness of feeling
Low energy
Low motivation
Poor concentration
Variety
There are various different degrees of a depression from:
- Mild, a low melancholy state, tiredness lack of confidence.
- Moderate, to be able to function day to day but is very difficult to do so.
- Severe, able to do very little to get through our day, extremely pessimistic view of life, and suicidal thoughts or actions.
Bi-polar
Term used to describe a swing in mood and behaviour from very intense highs or manic states like:
- Feeling elated
- Enthusiastic
- Racing thoughts
- Increased interest in activities
- Excessive and unrealistic belief in our abilities.
This can be managed!
By working in therapy to learn to identify the point or progression from one state to the other.
The swing then to very low depressive states, symptoms listed above. By working in therapy to learn to identify the point or progression from one state to the other, can be the start to regain balance again in our lives!
In the extreme negative thinking can lead to suicidal thoughts, because how we are is so painful that it felt like taking our own life to elevate the pain is the only option. Coming to therapy can seem pointless or even be too much. But! This is the most effective way of getting through this. Gaining insight into what’s happening to you and in you can dramatically change how you are in the world. We all have good days as well as bad days. Even though they might be few and far between, having good days offers us the potential to have more, by understanding our thinking pattern and how our energy can fluctuate and ultimately bring vitality back into our lives!
All this is done in private, confidential one to one sessions.
