Depression

when the waves come crashing in...

Classically, depression is thought of as a prolonged period of distressing low mood, motivation and enjoyment in activities of day-to-day life. People feel uninspired at best to completely helpless and hopeless, maybe even with thoughts of self-harm. Sometimes we feel angry when we are depressed or try to mask our feelings by pretending that things are OK. Eventually it becomes an effort to hide how we feel. This can lead to avoidant forms of behaviour, including a tendency to isolate from friends and family. Although not necessarily consciously, people sometimes try to escape their feelings through various forms of ´self-medication´, such as increasing their use of alcohol, drugs or food. These coping mechanisms can turn into problems in themselves, further fuelling our negative beliefs about ourselves, the world and the future.

It is important to get help for depression as soon as possible, before symptoms add to the initial problems, making it even harder to climb out of the black hole. Despite how it can feel sometimes, it is never too late to get help. Thoughts or deep feelings that things will never get better are not evidence of the future, nor are our experiences from the past - however painful. Depression is nothing to feel ashamed of nor is it a sign of weakness. The fact that you are reading this is evidence here and now that you have a desire and strength within you to ask for help.

Our emotions are often very complicated and trying to figure out why we think, feel and behave in the way we do can seem like trying to solve a seemingly impossible problem or puzzle. Therapy can help put the pieces together and find the solutions we can´t always see on our own.