What is it?
I have worked with many clients who have experienced depression in their lives. Experiencing depression can be a lonely and frightening place to be. The following is a list of some common symptoms of depression. It is unusual to have them all, but several usually may develop.
- Frequent or persistent low mood. Things often seem ‘black’.
- Apathy, loss of enjoyment and interest in life, even for things you used to enjoy.
- Deep sadness, sometimes with weepiness.
- Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, uselessness, hopelessness and helplessness.
- Poor motivation. Even simple tasks seem difficult.
- Poor concentration.
- Sleeping problems, insomnia or early waking.
- Lacking in energy, often tired.
- Difficulty with affection, including going off sex.
- Poor appetite and weight loss. Sometimes the reverse happens with ‘comfort eating’ and subsequent weight gain.
- Feelings of constant irritability, agitation, or restlessness.
- Symptoms sometimes seem worse in the. morning.
- Recurrent thoughts of death. This is not usually a fear of death, but a preoccupation with death and dying. Some people get suicidal ideas such as “life’s not worth living”.
Depression can be triggered by traumatic and stressful changes in your life. Examples include financial worries or the loss or break-up of a relationship, redundancy or starting a new job. Life changes and life transitions can all be followed by depression.
What can help?
Depression is a complicated state of mind, with many different symptoms and causes which are unique to each individual. It can particularly affect people with low self-esteem, little confidence and negative thought patterns. They then quickly feel overwhelmed with stress and anxiety. Some people struggle with a negative self-concept and a perceived lack of self-efficacy. They may find it difficult to believe that they can influence events or achieve personal goals. During counseling and psychotherapy, it may be helpful to question and alter these negative thoughts, beliefs and behaviour patterns. This may perhaps begin to restore a healthier self-image and help to establish a new sense of potency and agency in life.
Sometimes depression can be due to unresolved grief over the loss of a loved one. Sometimes it can be due to the loss of another kind, like the loss of a previous way of life, status or health. Working through this kind of grief during counseling or psychotherapy can help a person to come to terms with a different life situation. This may lift the depression and enable the client to move on into the future.
In other cases, depression may be more deeply rooted in difficult and stressful childhood experiences like loss, neglect or abuse. Traumatic feelings may have been hidden and locked away. This can then leave a person with a sense of hopelessness, helplessness, futility or meaninglessness. In such cases the approach in counseling or psychotherapy is often in-depth, and needs to be gentle and slow and at a pace the client is comfortable with.
