Everyone can feel sad at some point. Unfortunately, getting "the blues" is just a part of life. Sometimes, these feelings persist for longer than a couple of weeks, and it can start to seem like these feelings will never end. Depression can make you feel alone like no one can help.
With therapy, you can begin to combat the symptoms of depression, understand its root causes, and learn coping strategies for times when the illness may relapse. Your therapist will help you evaluate the most effective ways to change your environment concerning your depression.
Symptoms of Depression:
Feeling sad or low a lot
Feelings of worthlessness and guilt
Feeling anxious and nervous
Feeling slow and sluggish
Changes in weight
Irritability
Trouble sleeping
Decreased sex drive
Having trouble concentrating
Crying
Thoughts about suicide
Children
Depression in children can appear different than depression in adults. Children may be withdrawn, be fearful, shut down, or they may act out by being irritable, having blow-ups, have behavioral problems, and they might talk about not wanting to be alive in a fit of anger or sadness. When working with children, we work with the child through creative means (e.g., art, play) to help access their feelings, then have sessions with children and parents together to help the kids express those emotions to their caregivers. Research has found that when children can identify and express their emotions to a loved one, depression and anxiety decreased significantly. We also teach parents who to help identify and access their children's emotions so that they can take over the work of the therapist, and learn techniques to help their child be happy.
Adolescents/Teens
Adolescents (preteens and teens) can appear sad, down, tearful, just as some adults express depression. Still, they also may be irritable, easily frustrated, withdraw, and/or can be quick to anger. They may manage their depression by withdrawing and avoiding (e.g., playing video games, sleeping a lot, spending less time with friends), managing their feelings with unhealthy forms of coping (e.g., overeating, restricting their eating, cutting, using drugs or alcohol, getting in fights, engaging in risky behavior), and expressing their anger at others (e.g., parents, teachers, friends).
When working with adolescents, we use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), to help adolescents identify their negative patterns of thinking. Then we will help them to create more flexibility in thinking, that helps them see the world from a different perspective, and change depression thinking patterns. We also help adolescents to talk to their loved ones, as research has found that when adolescents can speak to their parents, depression and anxiety decrease. Additionally, helping them identify problems they're dealing with (e.g., doing bad in school, problems with friends, anger at parents), we can work with them to learn problem-solving skills to no longer feel helpless or hopeless.
Adults
Adults face many stressors, which may turn into depression.
Whether its:
a college student struggling with school
a young adult who can't stand their job
a new parent who is overwhelmed
an adult struggling with the loss of a parent
someone going through a divorce
Someone dealing with a medical problem
Or any other number of stressors can lead to a depressive pattern of thinking where we might be feeling hopeless and helpless. Some people may think, "I'm not depressed. I'm not lying in bed all day, in tears, and unable to function", but depression does not equate to sadness and not functioning. It may be a lack of enjoyment in life, things that used to be enjoyable no longer do, maybe feeling tired all of the time, or even just feeling numb.
To treat depression, we provide Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to identify the patterns of thinking that are reinforcing the depression. When we're depressed, we have a mental filter, like wearing a pair of blue-tinted glasses that colors our experience and makes it hard for us to see things from a different perspective. CBT also focuses on creating a life that is worth living. In addition to changes in our patterns of thinking, we may also need to change aspects of our life to make life more meaningful, whether it means:
changing jobs
doing couples therapy with a partner
making lifestyle changes around alcohol and/or health
get parenting help for our difficulty with children
Many who are depressed feel stuck and might find themselves hopeless, but help is out there.