Depression

You feel removed and cut off from the world; when you do have feelings, they are those of hopelessness and emptiness. Depression works to close us down and inhibit our activities: going to work, seeing people, eating, sex, even getting out of bed, all become difficult to manage. While therapy can be of enormous benefit, perhaps the most important thing to know about depression is that, in the majority of cases, it passes relatively quickly.

Symptoms of Depression

Below is a list of some of the symptoms associated with depression. Depression can sometimes be diagnosed alongside anxiety(depression and anxiety). If you or someone else are suffering from depression to the point where you are at risk of killng yourself, then contact the emergency services as soon as possible:

• Feelings of emptiness and hopelessness

• Difficulty carrying out daily activities

• Change in appetite

• Oversleeping and/or excessive dreaming

• Irritability or restlessness

• Loss of energy

• Inability to derive pleasure

• Unexplained aches and pains

Depression can sometimes lead to thoughts of killing oneself. If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide then counselling is not the immedate answer. Click here to find out how to respond to this situation.

Treatment for Depression

In many ways, the idea of treatment for depression makes no sense. Therapy can be all that you need to get you through this difficult time, and often works better as a support rather than a fix - it can be invaluable to have a listener who will share the load, without your having to worry about the impact you are having on the person helping you.

As an existential psychotherapist and counsellor, I will take the time to find out how depression has benefitted you. Either you or your body has decided that you need to retreat from the world, for a while at least. What is it you would be doing if you weren't dealing with depression? What is it that you would be facing up to? Often there is a question in your life that you needed respite from and depression, for whatever reason, was the only way out. While this model might not be a quick cure to a bout of depression, it can often prove useful following a depressive episode to help prevent a future occurrence.

If you would like to book in for treatment for depression then e-mail me at info@counselling-brighton.co.uk or call 07714 324542 to arrange your first psychotherapy session in either Brighton, Hove or Horsham.

Depression Articles

Below is a list of articles concerning depression. These are all links to external sites and should provide a wider understanding of depression:

Understanding Depression: Melinda Smith, Joanna Saisan and Jeanne Segal provide a detailed guide to the symptoms and treatment for depression.

Depression - The Illness that's still Taboo: Mark Rice-Oxley gives a firsthand account of coping with depression; describing his initial symptoms to what finally helped him through.

The Myths of Depression explained: Charlotte Bowles disbands some of the misconceptions around depression and treatment for depression.