This is How Therapy Can Help with Depression

Depression can feel like you’re walking around in a gray cloud, but it can also be much more subtle. Sometimes depression looks like sleeping too much, withdrawing from your friends and family, and feeling apathetic about things in general. Other times it looks like hating a job you once loved, feeling ambivalent about the future, and neglecting things you know are good for you. If you notice any of these symptoms of depression coming up for you, finding a depression therapist in San Diego can help.

Therapy for depression helps in so many ways. Some of the most impactful ones include:

  • You can learn how to recognize symptoms of depression, which oftentimes feel more like personal flaws (a lack of motivation, low energy, neglecting personal hygiene or basic needs) than mental health symptoms.

  • You can learn effective ways to respond to depression (these are not usual instinctual. In fact, the things we often instinctually do tend to make depression worse, not better).

  • Depression can be sneaky. It can feel like it’s us, but it’s really not. Learning how to separate the “depression voice” in your head from who you are as a person is empowering and something that is achievable in therapy.

  • Therapists are trained to pick up on signs of depression that can be hard to see. Your therapist can show you how to notice these symptoms of depression and respond to them in a more helpful way.

  • When the depression improves, you may be surprised to find that life gets so much easier. Work, relationships, and the things you used to enjoy tend to all feel drastically different when you are not operating under a depression cloud.

The best approach to therapy for depression is one that is based on the research and is tailored to you

Your life situation and experiences absolutely impact depression as much as your genetic makeup does. That’s why it’s important that your therapy plan looks at the ways your genetics, life, and relationships impact how depression is showing up for you.

While working together in therapy, I’ll help you learn what depression actually looks like and what depression actually is. We’ll look at the factors that are impacting your mental health and happiness. Together, we’ll come up with a plan for tackling the symptoms of depression you’re experiencing which will include regular therapy sessions, a better understanding of the cycle of depression, learning new, more effective ways to deal with your depression symptoms, and working on implementing new skills in between the times that we meet.

There’s never a better time to start therapy than now. If you’re feeling depressed, you may find yourself minimizing things and telling yourself it really isn’t bad enough for therapy. The reality is, that if you feel like you’re struggling, now is a great time to reach out and get some support from a licensed therapist near you.

If you’re in California and interested in working together either in-person or online, schedule a free, 15-minute phone consultation by clicking here. I am currently offering both in-person therapy and online therapy to clients located throughout California. In-person sessions are held in my office in the Del Mar neighborhood of San Diego. Learn more about online therapy sessions here.

Torie Wiksell, LMFT

Online therapist, Torie Wiksell, LMFT, specializes in working with adult children of parents with borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. She is passionate about helping her clients learn healthy ways to navigate life’s challenges, improve their mental health, and live a happier life.

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