DEPRESSION THERAPY
DEPRESSION THERAPY
Depression
Do you feel like all joy is lost? Happiness is reserved for someone else? Does life feel hopeless, empty, or meaningless? Does it feel like the weight of despair is all you know? Or maybe you just can’t recall the last time you experienced joy.
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Are you feeling fatigued, exhausted, lethargic, or like you’re too tired to do anything? Do the smallest tasks feel insurmountable? Does it feel like the bare minimum is too much? Do you feel like your life is futile, inconsiquental, or pointless, or it is just painful to survive?
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Possibly you think you don’t matter? Or you feel alone and isolated? Perhaps you imagine that you are a burden on others? Have you lost all motivation? Have activities and goals that were once important, lost all meaning?
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Depression can feel like trying to move through life with a boulder strapped to your back. It can feel like all joy, energy, motivation, hope, or desire has been drained right out of you, leaving only the weight of despair. It might leave you feeling heavily burdened, rejected, unlovable and disposable. It can leave you unrecognizable to yourself.
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Oftentimes the other people in your life just don’t seem to understand, and run out of patience, or tell you to “just get over it,” which can make you feel even worse, and lonely. The hydra of depression can also cause you to feel guilty, ashamed, and full of self-loathing. This dovetails with the cycle of low mood, low energy, and other debilitating symptoms that often cause people with depression to feel hopelessly stuck.
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Depression is exhausting, physically and emotionally. You might experience challenges with memory, cognitive decline, loss in general functioning. You could notice suicidal thinking, obsessive thoughts, mood swings, anger and irritability. There might be a lack of motivation, lack of pleasure, oversleeping, and the desire to not exist. The day to day of existence can feel like it takes an unavailable amount of physical and emotional energy.
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While you might feel alone in this, you are not! Depression is incredibly common, and it is likely more common than even the official numbers suggest. Downside is that the nature of this beast causes many people to try to ignore, minimize, or hide their pain and suffering; so many people harbor this pain privately, internally.
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It is shown that one of the most effective approaches in treating depression is to enlist the help and support of a trained mental health professional. I have seen firsthand how therapy has helped people with depression to create shifts in their symptoms, and begin to relate to themselves with more gentleness and hope than they previously thought possible.
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Healing IS Possible.
Reaching out for help might seem like another “thing” to add to your already insurmountable list of “things” to do. There might be some shame or opinions from others lurking in your mind, telling you that you; “its not that bad,” or maybe you should “just get over it,” or “ignore it,” or “go for a walk,” and how about the, “we all get sad sometimes, but we just keep going.” All these things can make reaching out even more challenging.
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It is true that sometimes asking for help from the right person is the strongest thing you can do. It can be the healthiest and most loving, courageous act of self-care. Even though it might feel intimidating and scary to begin depression therapy, it is often the first step on a journey to resolving depression symptoms and reclaiming your life. Take that step!​
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I am a seasoned clinician utilizing a client-centered and eclectic approach to working with depression. My work is informed by embodied relational gestalt, mindfulness traditions and practices, neuroscience, attachment theory, jungian dream work, somatic therapy, indigenous practices, undergirded by feminism and social-justice.
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Paramount to my education is my experience as a human, who has to navigate depression. I have learned that the most effective way to support my clients is to be fully myself, as a therapist—which is cushioned by all the personal and professional work I have done. In bringing my whole self to the seat of a therapist, I offer an active ear for listening, heart for empathizing, and humility to honor your embodied wisdom, inherent strength and deep knowing. The profound gift of therapy is the human relational aspect. I am here to be with what is, accept you just as you are, while the weaving of your inner sources of strength, clarity, and health emerge.
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If you’re struggling with depression, and would like to explore ways to heal and grow into a version of yourself and claim a life that is more creative, nourishing, empowered and playful, get in touch!