A life affirming way to understand depression is that depression is your “wake up call” that there are wounds inside that you have tried to bury and avoid and deny that you can no longer “stuff”as just as physical wounds need care your emotional wounds are crying out to you. . This very likely has been a lifelong pattern that you developed in your attempt to survive when stressed, overwhelmed and without support. You may have been raised in a family where you did not see and learn that you are valuable not based on what you do but on who you are. You are a “human being” not a “human doing” When we are emotionally neglected/abused as children one of the many consequences is internalizing our anger and blaming and shaming ourselves. See “Understanding The Effects Of Childhood Emotional Neglect” There may have been a ‘trigger” that has fueled your “wake up call” and this is the appointed time for you to take the time to seek the help and support that you need in order to move on in a healthy way.as depression does not have to be a life sentence! See “Ways To Recognize That You Do Not Value Yourself”
MAKING PEACE WITH “POWERLESSNESS”
Feeling helpless and overwhelmed fuels depression. You may consistently struggle with how to address “conflict” and feel powerless, (and then believe the lie that you are powerless and need to make peace with that lie) so you do everything possible to avoid conflict. however, learning to address conflict begins inside of you.. You may have been trained to be a “people pleaser” and that is “bondage” that only keeps you stuck in depression and oppression, but it is all you know how to do. In therapy you can begin to understand the roots of your anxiety as anxiety feeds depression. In therapy you can start to give yourself the attention that the “little boy” or “little girl” part never received and then you can internalize what you learn is “true” not the lies you believed about yourself. You can then become a “good parent” as you begin to understand how to “reparent yourself” and that your authentic voice matters and that you are no longer have to live “making peace with “powerlessness” . See “Ways To Stop Making Peace With Powerlessness”
IRRITABLE AND EASILY FRUSTRATED
One of the main indicators of depression is increased “irritability” in other words “everything and everyone seems to get on your nerves” Life feels like an ongoing battle from the minute you awake in the morning. You do your best to “avoid people, places and things” as much as you can in your daily life but you have few if any moments of “calm or peace”. You feel extremely alone and in a “battle in your mind" that you struggle to understand as well as tension in your body and a deep sense of emptiness that nothing and no one can ever fill. At any moment you may experience yourself ” breaking out in tears” or feeling “extremely frustrated and angry” but do not understand the root of your emotions. . Therapy can help you to make connections with yourself that you have avoided and to become “truly” connected with yourself very likely for the first time in your life. You will learn how to address stress by learning how feel and think at the same time and thus regulate your emotions. We live from the inside out so what is going on inside needs your attention and as you heal this will be reflected in all areas of your life as well as your beginning to have healthy and connected relationships with those close to you.
SELF CARE IS A STRUGGLE
You may not feel like doing anything and yet this is the time that you must notice how you are “neglecting you”. Self-care is so essential in this battle against depression as it is you beginning to care for yourself “no matter how you feel at the time” Self-care can be taking a walk, calling or seeing a friend, eating some enjoyable healthy food, working out., playing with your pets, listening to music, and last but not least “praying” . Therapy can be an “essential” part of your self care as therapy with the ‘right therapist” can help you to grow and stretch and heal: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. You will become a man or a woman who is balanced! See “3 Ways To Nurture Yourself When Feeling Lonely and Depressed”
THERAPY WITH THE “RIGHT THERAPIST” WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Yes it will take courage and you will begin to see how courageous you are as you take a step to come out of the ‘bondage” of depression and give yourself the attention and care you so need. Would love to walk along this healing journey with you as I have seen so many with changed lives from the inside out! Look forward to hearing from you give me a call!