Are you feeling down in the dumps, like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, or a sense of darkness around or inside of you?  Is there a general sense of ‘can’t be bothered’ or life being a terrible drag?  Is your sleep disturbed, appetite or sexual mojo diminished?

Even if we mask it with a smile, depression saps our energy and make us miserable to be around.  It can seem that life is not worth living but somehow we keep going from day to day.  At some level we dare to hope that things could be different.

What is depression

According to ICD-10:

In typical mild, moderate, or severe depressive episodes, the patient suffers from lowering of mood, reduction of energy, and decrease in activity. Capacity for enjoyment, interest, and concentration is reduced, and marked tiredness after even minimum effort is common. Sleep is usually disturbed and appetite diminished. Self-esteem and self-confidence are almost always reduced and, even in the mild form, some ideas of guilt or worthlessness are often present. The lowered mood varies little from day to day, is unresponsive to circumstances and may be accompanied by so-called “somatic” symptoms, such as loss of interest and pleasurable feelings, waking in the morning several hours before the usual time, depression worst in the morning, marked psychomotor retardation, agitation, loss of appetite, weight loss, and loss of libido. Depending upon the number and severity of the symptoms, a depressive episode may be specified as mild, moderate or severe.

Depression does what it says on the tin.  It is the experience of being depressed, i.e. being pushed down or crushed.  But who or what is pressing down on you?  You are pressing down on you.  You are depressing or containing something in yourself.  The opposite of depressing is expressing.  The cause of depression is, therefore, the inhibition of expression.

Why would you inhibit your own expression?  Because, at some time, you learned that it was not OK to express certain emotions openly.  You were taught to have a ‘stiff upper lip’, that ‘big boys don’t cry’, that ‘it upsets your mother when you get angry’.  To avoid conflict that you could not win you learned to contain your perfectly normal emotions.  When the emotions are really strong they collapse inwards into a black hole.  When you are depressed you are experiencing this black hole from the inside.

How do you treat depression?

The key to resolving depression is to stop masking the issues, to feel, and express the underlying emotions.  To literally come out of yourself.

We will work together to create a safe space for you to explore, uncover, feel and express emotions that have probably been buried for years.  Rather than covering the depression up we will journey to its core and release the root causes.  As you learn to shed the heavy emotions your commitment will be rewarded and you will begin to feel lighter, more energetic, and make real life changes.  The downward spiral of depression transforms into a virtuous cycle of self esteem, activity, and recognition.

Take action now

Would you like to to become more energetic and expressive?  I work online via video call.  Request a free 30 minute consultation.

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