You feel overwhelmingly sad. Somedays, it’s hard to get out of bed. It feels like a dark cloud is constantly following you

To be honest, depression hurts. Living with depression affects your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. When you’re living with depression, it can feel exhausting and overwhelming to simply get out of bed. But you have to. You’ve got a job to do and people to take care of. However, it’s so tough to take care of your responsibilities when you’re feeling depressed.  When your energy and motivation are gone it is hard to move forward. You no longer enjoy the things that used to make you happy. Life is hard. 

Perhaps, you feel like this is just a phase. You know you don’t feel great, but you think you’ll snap out of it. After all, life can throw you curve-balls and be challenging at times. But after a couple of days, you notice your persistent dark mood hasn’t changed. You try and tell yourself to just “snap out of it.” And you become self-critical thinking of all the time you’ve spent wallowing. This just makes matters even worse. 

Maybe, disappointments from the past have begun to creep back into your mind. You’re plagued with ‘what ifs’ and thoughts of ‘if I had done this differently..” then all of a sudden you find yourself feeling ashamed, sad, and even worthless. 

If you recognize some of these thoughts as your own, you may be experiencing depression. Depression is one of, if not the most, prevalent mental health disorder in the United States. In fact, at 4.7% of adults over 18 experience some form of depressing thoughts.  Counseling for depression in Virginia Beach, VA, Chesapeake, VA, and Richmond, VA.

Counseling for Depression can Help you Overcome these Depression Symptoms:

• Feeling hopeless or extremely overwhelmed
• Persistent sadness
• Loss of interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy
• Changes in sleep: sleeping too much or too little
• Fatigue and exhaustion
• Physical aches and pains
• Changes in eating: eating too much or too little
• Lack of concentration, attention challenges, slow thinking, or brain fog
• Frequent or recent thoughts of death, self-harm, or suicide*

*It’s extremely important to note that if you or your loved one are having thoughts of death, self, harm, or suicide then they need emergency mental health services right away. Do not hesitate to reach out and get help. Contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline by calling 800-273-8255 or by visiting their website. 

Our Approach to Depression Treatment:

Our therapists are quite skilled at treating depression. They know the depression signs and depression symptoms, even if you don’t. In the first few sessions, your therapist will take time to really get to know you and better understand your background, lifestyle, interests, and your relationships. They will take the time to figure out what makes you unique and special. They will also determine areas of your life that could be changed or modified to help alleviate depression symptoms. This may include your sleep habits, your diet, your exercise regime, and your self-care habits.

Counseling for Depression can help

Depression can really take a toll on your life and your emotional wellbeing if it’s left untreated. It can be extremely hard to reach out and ask for mental health support, but doing so will only make you stronger, more resilient, and more self-aware. Depression counseling in Richmond, VA, Chesapeake, VA, and Virginia Beach, VA  is a powerful tool to help you learn to cope with the things that leave you feeling depressed and move forward in your life with a clear plan for how to handle these situations when they arise in the future.

Your Depression Counselor Wants You to Feel Understood

The most important part of therapy is building a positive relationship with your depression therapist. When you go to counseling for the first time or the first time in a while, you may feel vulnerable. After all, it’s hard to talk about your problems with someone you don’t know. Our therapists understand and respect your concerns. So, we will allow you to move at your own pace and begin the work of understanding and coping with your depression at a pace that makes you feel safe and comfortable.

CBT Therapy for Depression

Just as every person is unique, so is the way we treat their depression. One of the primary forms of treatment used in depression counseling is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT. CBT has been proven to be very effective in treating a wide variety of mental health concerns, especially treating depression symptoms. 

During CBT you will work with your therapist to identify and change your unhelpful thoughts, These are the thoughts that make you feel bad. For example, you may think that your long-lasting sadness is a sign of weakness, but that’s not the case. We will explain the role of depression signs and symptoms in creating these thoughts and help you see them as an opportunity for healthy change. We will also teach you tools to cope with negative thoughts when they arise through techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, and distress tolerance.

How can mindfulness help?

Mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools to help you cope with feelings of sadness, depression, and the unhelpful or painful thoughts you have about yourself and your life. Mindfulness is the practice of helping you slow down and quiet your racing thoughts. Your therapist will use a variety of techniques to help you control your breathing and focus on being in the present and aware of your body and mind. 

Our goal for depression counseling in Chesapeake, VA, Richmond, VA, and Virginia Beach, VA is to help you trust yourself and your resiliency. You are capable of managing tough situations when they arise and coping with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings.  After working with a therapist, you will not only see your depression symptoms and signs decrease, but you will see your overall self-esteem improve and you will feel better and happier so you’re able to identify and enjoy your life,