Depression
Depression can be indicated by feeling tearful or sad, social withdrawal, by excessive negative thoughts including suicidal thoughts or by thinking that life is hopeless or not worth continuing or that you would rather not be alive. It can mean difficulty in sleeping (or too much sleeping), lack of energy, lack of motivation, loss of concentration and by a variety of other symptoms.Depression (and anxiety which can occur alongside) can be caused by a variety of factors. These break down into "real world events" (such as bereavement, relationship breakdown, loss of job etc) and "internally caused" including negative thinking patterns, negative self image, unexpressed emotions etc. Often the causes of depression are not within our conscious awareness or we may only be partially aware of what is going on. Counselling can help to bring things into the open where they can be examined and unexpressed feelings can be allowed to surface. It is often these unexpressed feelings which contribute to depression.
My job is to work with you to determine what combination of factors might be contributing to the way that you feel. The way forward then depends on what we discover between us. Sometimes all that is required is for you to express the way you are really feeling inside. This can be made easier in the safe supportive environment of the counselling room. These feelings might be ones of sadness and/or of anger or other feelings might be involved. Other times we will work on modifying the way you see yourself or we might use mindfulness techniques to help you cope with negative thoughts.
Anti-depressants are a common way for doctors to "treat" depression. The most common types of anti-depressant are called Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) which as the name suggests, prevent the absorption of serotonin which is a "feel good" chemical in our brains. Anti-depressants can indeed provide some alleviation of the symptoms of depression but generally they do not tackle the underlying cause. This is where counselling comes into play as described above. Sometimes a combination of anti-depressants and counselling together are the most effective way out of depression.