Is A Stifling Fog Of Depression Hovering Over Your Life?
Are you or your child struggling to find enjoyment? Does a lack of concentration make it hard to complete typical daily tasks? Is a crushing sense of isolation keeping you or your child from engaging with others or in the activities that once provided joy? Does life simply feel unmanageable?
Perhaps a major event or transition has triggered feelings of hopelessness or despair. Maybe a long period of sadness has made it seem as though nothing will or can ever get better. Cycles of depression can often include bouts of sadness, tearfulness, mood swings, and irritability. Maybe you or your child feel abandoned by friends and family because they are telling you they “can not handle” your intense emotions or you are always, “bringing them down.” This rejection usually piles on to what is usually already an overwhelming sense of loneliness that accompanies depression. You or your child may also be feeling the physical symptoms of depression such as lethargy, body aches, getting too much or too little sleep, or experiencing episodes of over or under eating.
If left untreated, depression can have long lasting and severe consequences. Children and adults alike may resort to various self-destructive behaviors such as cutting, substance use, binging, purging, or restricting food as a means of finding a sense of control of their pain. Extreme patterns of thinking and destructive behavior can eventually escalate to suicidal thoughts such as, “Maybe it would be better if I was not here,” or “No one would miss me if I was gone.” Suicidal thoughts can unfortunately become so persistent or severe that perhaps you or your child has even attempted suicide, which could lead ot serious, permenant injury, or even death.
A persistent sense of unworthiness often affects individuals who are struggling with depression. These feelings can lead you or your child to believe that you are undeserving of and unable to achieve the accomplishments that have characterized the success of those around you. You may have a sense of “stuckness,” or your feelings of depression might feel like weights dragging you down and making you feel as if you are moving in slow motion or that you are powerless to be able to identify solutions to your problems.
However, finding relief, reconnection, and a renewed sense of worthiness is possible in the form of therapeutic treatment for depression.
A Sense Of Unworthiness Can Lead To Low Self-Esteem And Depression
We are relational beings, and it is instinctual for us to observe others and compare ourselves to them. Unfortunately, we often see our flaws or shortcomings by contrast, and begin to feel as though we will never be able to measure up to the success of others. In a competitive and accomplished community like ours, it can be easy to feel that we are in competition with others, and that we are always behind. This line of thinking can cause us or children to become extremely emotionally dysregulated and perpetuate a spiral of self doubt, criticism, and judgement that pushes out all rational or more neutral thinking. When we are operating in these extreme thought patterns, failure is not an option, and we are not able to separate our self worth from our choices or the outcomes of our endeavors. Making one “bad” decision or “failing” at one task suddenly means we will never be good at anything ever again, and that we are destined to fail at everything we attempt.
Feelings of sadness and defeat can be natural reactions to the challenges we face in life. However, those feelings can grow into persistent, negative cycles of thinking that can impact our or our child’s daily routine or ability to make decisions. If that happens, we may be getting a sign that we are not coping with depression in a healthy or effective way.
Patterns of negative thinking can change our brain structure over time, which can have ramifications beyond symptoms on the surface. Cycles of despair and isolation can also impact those closest to us including significant others, children, and friends. Others may feel “let down” in our lives if we are not following through on promises or attending social events. Children with parents exhibiting signs of low self esteem and harboring negative core beliefs often develop the same views about themselves and the world.
While it can be difficult to envision a life unencumbered by depression, it is possible to gain a meaningful understanding of what is occurring inside the mind and body of you or your child. As you start to explore certain emotional triggers and patterns of behavior through the process of depression therapy, you can begin the process of identifying the subconscious factors that are holding you or your child back in life. The more understanding you gain, the more you can begin to dismantle and let go of your depression.
Depression Treatment Can Lift The Fog To Help You See Clearly
You or your child will have the opportunity to transform negative thinking patterns during therapeutic sessions that can eventually translate into lasting changes to your or your child’s “automatic thinking.” Your newfound insight into how your negative thoughts lead to overwhelming feelings, which can lead to negative and self harming behaviors, will help you be less impacted by extreme reactions to challenges and setbacks. Therapy gives you the opportunity to build a toolbox now so that you can cope with feelings of depression in the
future.
At New Beginnings Psych, we offer a warm, compassionate, and straightforward environment where you or your child can process, reflect, and express the thoughts and feelings that are causing you pain and disruption. We will begin the initial process of matching you with a therapist in our practice whose approach best suits your needs, based on the predominant effects as a result of your depression.
Once a safe and secure therapist-client relationship has been established, we will work together to understand the symptoms of your depression, the ways in which you react to them, and explore the core of the issue. We will determine the best approach to your depression treatment by considering your or your child’s individual situation and identifying the root causes of depression from there.
You or your child will collaborate with your therapist in order to begin to identify and capitalize on your internal strength and develop strategies for mitigating extreme and negative thinking.
Depending on the preferred method of your therapist, different variations of cognitive behavioral therapy will be used to identify and mitigate symptoms of depression. Yours or your child’s daily habits will evolve to integrate affirmation of self and overa-all positive thinking. These skills will allow your future self to have a supply of tools to maintain success even during challenging periods in the future.
The increase of positive thinking will lead to an increase in your or your child’s self-esteem and help you or your child embrace the belief that goals are achievable. Eventually, bouts of sadness, episodes of tearfulness, feelings of despair, and angry outbursts will occur less frequently. You or your child will become more emotionally regulated, less reactive, and your or your child’s rational thought process will be more readily accessible.
Depression can quickly and easily tear down a sense of capability, but the power to positively re-engage with yourself exists in the inherent strengths that you or your child already possess. Depression treatment is simply a means for cultivating those strengths while re-imagining a future that contains hope and possibility.
A sense of worthiness is achievable and a life worth living is within your reach.
Perhaps you are considering counseling for your depression, but you have some concerns…
I do not have the time to invest in depression treatment.
Therapy offers an opportunity to slow down and participate in self-care, which can be hard to do in the context of a busy and demanding life. You or your child deserve this moment of growth and healing, and you can improve your quality of life by committing to the process of depression treatment. With the support from a skilled therapist, you or your child will become more functional and able to complete tasks and adhere to responsibilities, saving yourself from headaches and setbacks in the future.
I don’t have the money to invest in depression treatment.
As we like to say, there is no price tag on your mental health or well-being. You deserve to have a happy, functional, and fulfilled life. If depression is preventing you or your child from obtaining your full potential, therapy can be a short-term solution with long-term benefits. Investing in treatment now will pay off in the future, in the form of a higher quality of life and a heightened sense of worthiness.
I am afraid of what I will feel in processing and confronting my depression.
Finding out more about ourselves can certainly be scary, but it will likely not be any more uncomfortable than how you are feeling in the fog of your depression right now. Self-understanding is an essential skill set to have, and it is necessary to live the best life possible. The deeper the understanding you can maintain in regard to your depression, the more opportunity you will have to dismantle and mitigate the effects of depression before it causes problems in your or your child’s life. You do not have to continue living in pain!
You Have The Strength And Ability To Overcome Your Depression
If depression is creating issues of disempowerment or low self-esteem in your or your child’s life, counseling at New Beginnings Psych can help you develop a new perspective and provide relief. To find out more about our team and approaches to therapy or to schedule your first appointment, please contact us.