When you are suffering the dark thoughts, low moods, and low energy of depression, help can seem so far away. The road to recovery feels too long and too much trouble to even start the journey. And so, you may have felt emotionally and mentally stuck for a long time, living with hopelessness and powerlessness. Unable to put depression behind you on your own.
That’s okay. There is no shame in feeling the way you feel. Legions of people suffer the way you do. You are not the only one, despite what your depression tells you. And you don’t have to travel the road to peace of mind without a guide. A depression counselor can help you find relief. Together, you and your counselor can break through the thoughts and behaviors that keep you stuck, isolated and in pain.
Consistent, compassionate treatment can shed new light on the old beliefs that hold you back and help you break out of depression to a better life. Your mental health and freedom are worth the work that may seem overwhelming right now.Still not sure how a depression counselor can make such a difference in your life? Consider the following four ways therapy can help:
1. Your depression counselor is an action-agent
Depression counseling helps remind you that you have a right to feel better. Low self- esteem, self-imposed isolation, and the colorless life you’ve been leading can make you feel like you deserve depression. A trained professional can encourage you and affirm your choice to seek more than a life sentence of depressive thinking and loneliness. By choosing counseling, you and your therapist begin to take back authority and control of your mind and emotions.
Over time, you may find that you are increasingly able to seek more joy, embrace fuller relationships, and enjoy emotional freedom. Commitment to depression counseling goes a long way in expanding your ability to cope and communicate through the symptoms of depression productively with your counselor first and then with those closest to you. Being able to actively deal with your depression, feeling solidly supported, can make all the difference in your successful recovery.
2. Your depression counselor promotes awareness & acceptance
Depression counseling can help you recognize and identify the emotional needs, memories, and pain (physical and emotional) associated with your depression. Regular depression counseling sessions are an effective way to discover how your thinking fuels your low moods and the tension in your body. Your depression counselor can help you look at your thoughts and identify the accompanying responses. As you mindfully examine negative thought patterns, problematic perceptions, and persistent discomfort, the awareness you gain is crucial self-knowledge. Little by little, depression has less power and is less able to work against you.
The idea is to pay attention to yourself, not to beat yourself up or avoid your suffering. Instead, you and your therapist can work as a team to empower your ability to heal and thrive. Acknowledgment and acceptance of your depression gives you the leverage to overcome it.
3. Your depression counselor helps you test the confines of your darker thoughts and emotions
Depression counseling can help you test the limits depression imposes upon you. Challenging your beliefs about your depression can open your mind and expand life options. Depression counseling affords you the chance to develop inner clarity. The therapeutic relationship allows you a safe place to work through moments when you feel unworthy, weak, unbearably sad, angry, or negative.
Together, you can work through hopelessness with clear intention. By challenging the validity of depression-related self-perception you can start to see how your opportunities and relationships have been affected. As you learn to accurately verify or dismiss unproductive responses to stress and negativity, you and your counselor can address automatic thoughts and physical reactions that short-change your life and interactions. A healthier, more balanced thought-life will support positive progress and a more balanced, compassionate view of yourself, your future, and your relationships.
4. Your depression counselor is interested in your growth and transformation
Depression counseling helps you find what works for you, makes you feel better, and supports positive independence. Your depression counselor’s goal is not to sell you on cookie cutter therapies or medication, keep you rehashing old wounds, or make you dependent on therapy. Emotional and mental freedom is the goal. A body that supports and houses a happy and whole mind is ideal.
Depression counseling is a collaboration geared toward creating lasting change. For some, a combination of pharmaceutical, talk therapy, and bodywork are required. For some, one or two areas receive the most attention. What matters most is that you and your counselor work together to uncover makes you feel most capable connected to others, and positive. All in all, your depression counselor does more than simply address your depression. As a team, you can view counseling as motivation and inspiration. Depression needn’t last forever. Heal and grow into the person you were afraid you might never be.
With all that said, I am here to move toward wellness with you. So, if you would like some extra support and are looking for a psychotherapist, please contact us for a free consultation to learn about how we can help.
Find out more about Depression Therapy. Serving Boulder, Longmont, Denver...
