Therapy For Depression
Depression.
No one feels happy all the time – everyone has periods of feeling low. So how do you know when, rather than just going through a bad spell, you’ve tipped into being depressed? Often, it’s when the feelings just don’t go away. Or maybe they do for a while, but they keep creeping back and lasting for longer and longer.
What are the actual signs of depression? And how are they different to those of just feeling down? Symptoms can include feeling unhappy or hopeless, having low self-esteem and struggling to find joy in the things that used to bring a smile. Sometimes, people will say they feel flat and empty. They struggle to concentrate and their energy has disappeared. You might feel tired all time, but your sleep is affected too, either insomnia (trouble sleeping) or sleeping more than usual.
Your motivation to do the things that you used to drains away – and then guilty feelings come along because you haven’t done those things. For some, the basics of day to day looking after yourself become a real struggle. Having a shower, getting dressed in clean clothes, brushing your teeth. Taking care of your overall appearance. Even making yourself a meal feels like such an effort. This can extend to those around you. Seeing family, friends, and work colleagues: everything is a struggle.
Depression can present itself in the body, too. Nothing has been injured, but you feel pain, fatigue, and weakness. This is the mind and body connection.
Important
Sometimes, when feelings get so low and the struggle to cope becomes too much, people will use self-harming behaviours. This can make things feel better in the short term, but worse later on.
The depression might be so bad that thoughts of suicide begin to occur. This can be very frightening and should be treated as a mental-health emergency. If you are having these thoughts, please seek help immediately.
I realise it can be difficult to explain your thoughts and feelings to other people.
So perhaps write down how you are feeling and have this with you when you speak to the doctor. As I said just now, it is very important that your GP is your first step. Once you have done this, and have been recommended to seek talking therapy or to begin exercising, I can help you.
By addressing how you are thinking and feeling, I’ll help you develop an awareness of how, in your body, psychological events and physical sensations are so closely connected. Without this awareness, we can get stuck in a vicious loop which I call ‘the cycle of suffering’.
As The Mind & Body Guide, my aim is to explore these connections to help you gain insight into yourself. This could be looking at present problems or those that are more deeply seated: things you’ve been told or events you’ve experienced which have shaped who you are now.
I have decades of experience in health care. Years spent working as a senior physiotherapist in the NHS. I’ve taught Pilates to hundreds of people. And I’m a qualified psychotherapist with a suite of therapy skills to draw on.
My approach to therapy is to help you to understand yourself mentally and physically. Then, working together, we can plot your pathway to a healthier, happier life.
The Mind-Body Guide
Therapy for the whole of you
Before seeking treatment from me, it is important to be checked by your General Practitioner so that rare problems, or anything that requires specific medical attention, can be ruled out.
If you like, sign up below and I will send you a questionnaire which can be helpful to find out a bit more about a diagnosis of depression.
Specialist Treatment Areas.
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