Depression is the most common mood disorder, impacting millions of people in the U.S. each year. While depression and its impact on lives is common, that doesn’t mean it feels good for those who are struggling with depressed mood. From intense sadness to feelings of hopelessness, depression takes a serious toll on daily life. Those who struggle with depression often feel isolated or like their loved ones won’t understand or validate their experiences, which increases the feelings of isolation. Depression can quickly make even the smallest daily tasks feel insurmountable. If you’re struggling with depression, therapy can help you minimize the adverse effects of depression symptoms, so you can begin leading a more satisfying life again. Learn more about therapy on this page or by reaching out to the team at Image & Likeness Counseling.
Is It Depression or Am I Sad?
Many people who struggle with depression have heard loved ones tell them to just find a way to feel happier. Find something to be happy about. Stop focusing on being sad. Just get out of bed and do something today. To people who don’t struggle with depression, these may sound like simple requests, but for those who are trying to live their lives and overcome feelings of depression, this request is much easier said than done. Depression, like all emotions, can be a healthy way for your mind to cope with difficult experiences. Intense sadness and mourning following a loss, in empathy for someone else who is having a difficult time, or for any other reason can be not only positive but actually helpful. Think about a time in your life when you have been very sad. Maybe you’ve wept or just felt very low. These feelings of depression allow you the time you need to process the difficult situation that triggered feelings of sadness. As you process the experience, these feelings begin to diminish. You start to feel less depressed, you have more energy, and eventually, you feel like you’re back to being yourself.
For people who struggle with the mood disorder depression, these feelings of low mood, helplessness, hopelessness, physical exhaustion, lack of motivation, and even thoughts of self-harm or suicidal ideation may not be directly linked to one experience that triggers a period of depression. Instead, depression seems to happen out of nowhere, and rather than being alleviated naturally over time, depression can linger, become more intense, and make it more and more difficult to live a healthy, satisfying life. When people experience intense feelings of sadness and low mood or depression that lasts for weeks or months or recurs regularly, they may benefit from therapy.
Can Therapy Help with Depression?
At Image & Likeness Counseling, our team regularly partners with people who are struggling with depression. Even though it’s a common condition, depression can be difficult to overcome. It strips energy from people and reduces satisfaction and joy. This makes even the smallest tasks like taking a shower difficult. It’s no surprise that it can take time for therapy to be effective. Finding the energy to schedule a therapy session may be a challenge. Once in therapy, doing the work of learning and using the coping strategies your therapist is teaching can feel overwhelming. However, with a little bit of commitment, we help clients make small changes that deliver big results. Your therapist can’t promise it will be easy, but they know the real benefits of simply making the time and space for yourself to learn new ways to manage the impact of depression on your day-to-day life.
What Do I Do to Get Started?
Depression is draining and strips away the sense of joy and satisfaction from daily life, but the good news is that you don’t have to live with the negative impact of depression. Instead, we hope you’ll consider reaching out to us for a therapy session at Image & Likeness Counseling. During your appointment, we can discuss the way that depression impacts your day-to-day life and explore coping strategies to start making every day a little better.