Depression is often a result of an ongoing shutting down response. It is a nervous system state we sometimes move into after feeling overwhelmed by what is around us, memories, or big feelings. Depression can be seen as the last coping mechanism to get away from what has hurt us, from what is painful, or what we no longer can withstand. In a depressed state, our body-mind believes it is protecting us from experiencing more pain.
Depression occurs in a relational context and our interdependence plays a role in our mental, medical, and social health. One of the reasons depression is so prevalent is that our social context prevents us from listening to our body’s need to release the trauma we are carrying. Constrictions around emotional expression, race or gender scripts, make it hard for our nervous system to know we are safe if all we receive is judgement.
Although it’s common to feel sad or upset from time to time, depression is deeper and longer lasting. It can affect how you think, feel and interact with people or handle daily life. Depression can affect people of all ages and impact all areas of a person’s life, including work, school, relationships and physical health.
Symptoms of Depression
Depression is extreme sadness or despair and affects people in different ways:
- feeling sad or low on most days
- feeling hopeless or helpless
- feeling angry
- feeling guilty or worthless
- feeling alone or isolated in your experience
- crying a lot
- difficulty concentrating
- loss of interest or pleasure in things you’ve once enjoyed
- having negative thoughts or self-blame
- having trouble sleeping or sleeping a lot but feeling tired all the time
- changes in appetite such as eating more or less
- chronic pain, headaches or stomach aches
- withdrawing from friends and family
- using alcohol or other substances to cope
- thoughts of death or suicide
Factors that can Contribute to Depression
- experiencing racism or other forms of oppression
- a major life transition such as moving to a new city
- physical health issues
- fertility challenges
- experiencing trauma or abuse
- altered relationships such as divorce or a break-up
- conflicts at home, school or the workplace
- job or financial loss
Therapy for Depression
The good news is depression is highly treatable. Counselling can help you understand and navigate factors that might be contributing to your mood. Additionally, understanding how emotions work in the mind and body helps prevent and ease depression, and shows us a tried and true, science-based path of healing from our painful past experiences.
To help your depression in counselling, we will explore your story, make connections between past, present and future experiences, uncover new truths, and start healing and resolving what is keeping you down. Together we will have the opportunity to integrate mindfulness, somatic experiencing, emotional awareness while using evidence-based practices, such as accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP), internal family systems (IFS) or ‘parts’ work.
More of what counselling might involve:
- undoing the aloneness of the experience by being in the presence of a safe other
- shifting our thinking to our bodily response which can be protective and corrective
- processing stuck emotions that live in the body causing symptoms like depression
- using mindfulness practices to break the cycle of negative thinking often associated with depression by learning to observe thoughts without judgment
- developing coping strategies to manage symptoms
- in our work together we also slow down and notice what’s new, good and emerging to broaden our perspectives and possibilities towards growth and exploration
Reach out if you need support. You do not need to experience this alone.
“Nothing that feels bad is ever the last step.” – Diana Fosha
