Struggling with Depression?
Depression is a dangerous and deceitful illness. It convinces you that you are the only person that feels the way you do and then causes you to isolate yourself which makes the symptoms even worse. Sharing your thoughts may feel like you are putting a burden on others, but being open with a safe support system is crucial to the healing process. Seeking depression help through professional counseling can be even more of a burden lifter! Continue reading to see how it works.
Speaking with a counselor about past and present life challenges begins the process of developing a cognitive map of your thought patterns and thinking styles. (Your Cognitive Map) Oftentimes, simply being able to speak freely without judgement will help you gain insight into how you process your thoughts and life. This applies to thoughts of suicide as well. Then, you can see what is keeping you “stuck” in depression. As you look at your cognitive map, you can assess what is steering you towards depression and decide to change course.
After assessing and acknowledging the issue, you will be able to “recalculate” your thoughts. Professionals call this thought-stopping, thought replacement, or focusing on the positive. As their titles infer, these techniques help you stop a negative line of logic, replace those thoughts with more flexible ones, and shift focus from what is wrong to what has been successful. This thought change is vital because it lays the foundation for you to accept your story, while also giving you the tools to change how the story moves forward.
In addition to the internal work, external measures like medication and therapy homework enhance the progress of depression therapy. Medication management is done through a referral to a medical professional where you and your physician can assess the need.
Therapy homework will address your cognitive framework between sessions, and can include journaling, spending time outdoors, interacting with friends, or a physical activity. These exercises are designed to help boost your mood. Although enjoying life can be difficult when one is depressed, you can “act yourself into a new way of feeling” by completing the exercises despite how you feel about them. With practice, it becomes more difficult to resist the enjoyment.
The ultimate goal in overcoming depression is to get back to, or discover, the joy of life. This means that part of the process will involve ruling out what truly is depression and what isn’t. Experiencing great loss can result in immense grief or trauma. Though grief may include a period of depression, it is a separate thing which is natural to humanity. The treatment for grief or trauma would include techniques similar to depression treatment, but it also has paths specific to those ailments. For more information about acute stress, trauma and PTSD click here.
Depression therapy with a counselor serves as support and direction which equips you to get better. As your guide, I promise to respect you and listen without judgement so you can truly heal.
Click here to link to our Facebook Page!
Blog
Click here to link to our Blog!
YouTube - Video Blog
Click Here To Link to Our VBlog!