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.

My name is Richard. I am an experienced psychotherapist trained to heal the causes of depression. I can work with you to find the inspiration and energy to express yourself and enjoy life. When you are ready you can request a free 30 minute consultation,

What is depression

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.

ICD-10

What causes depression?

I think the clue to the cause of depression is contained within its name: 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 pushing down and crushing your own emotions.  The opposite of depressing is releasing.  The cause of depression is, therefore, the inhibition of emotional release.

Why would you inhibit your own emotional release?  Because, at some time, you learned that it was not OK to express certain emotions openly.  Perhaps you were taught to have a ‘stiff upper lip’, that ‘big boys don’t cry’, or that ‘it upsets your mother when you get angry’.  To avoid the negative consequences of expressing yourself you learned to keep things inside. This was probably an effective solution at the time so, chances are you have kept on doing it … pushing more and more down until the energy it takes to contain it all becomes exhausting. Perhaps the feelings of depression are a sign that it is now time to set yourself free?

How do you treat depression?

I think the keys to resolving depression are to discover and express the emotions you have been pushing down and to get out there and make a start at doing some of the things you don’t really feel like doing.

We will work together and explore your experience of life now and in the past to find any patterns in how you cope with events.  Rather than covering the depression up with fake “positivity” I will encourage you to remember times when you have pushed emotions down and to find safe ways of expressing them – even the scary explosive ones.

At the same time I will invite you to consider what you would like to be doing in the real world if you weren’t feeling so down. Rather than trying to run before you can walk I will encourage you to be satisfied with “doing a bit”. Before long you may find that you actually want to do a bit more. And a bit more again.

Transformation isn’t easy but your commitment will be rewarded and you will begin to feel lighter, more energetic, and make real life changes.  The downward spiral of feeling down, doing nothing, and giving yourself a hard time transforms into a virtuous cycle of motivation, activity, and self-esteem.

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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