Do you feel sad, alone, or stuck?
Often when a person is suffering from depression, they may not be aware of it until their daily functioning, interests, and mood become markedly diminished. There becomes a sense of “stuckness” in it.
Signs of depression can vary for each individual, and include sadness, a sense of emptiness, loss of interest in activities, low energy, difficulty getting out of bed, low self-esteem, self-doubt, loneliness, a sense of foreboding about the future, and even thoughts of suicide.
It often happens where a client will ask me during the assessment process, “Am I depressed?”
How do feelings, emotions inform us?
Emotional struggles, conflicts, and stress are natural parts of being human. Often, we want to avoid what is unpleasant and a person may have learned when they were young, that you have to keep your emotions in check. For some, they learned that it is better not to feel. However….
Emotions are useful and provide us with valuable information about our needs and wants. There can be the need to feel safe and protected, to feel loved and connected, and to have compassion and calm.
Emotions hold knowledge and wisdom about what we are needing and can guide us in the direction of not only getting our needs met, but also in finding meaning and making changes in our lives. Emotions hold vital information.
What is underneath depression?
When feeling stuck and alone in depression, a person can feel confounded about what is happening within. They can feel like they don’t have a path in front of them with which to guide them out of it.
Depression itself often involves unfinished business from our past, painful events that did not get resolved. In those painful experiences were needs that did not get met. The emotional wounds linger within and cause suffering. The manifestation of that is depression.
A good way of knowing if you have unresolved hurt from the past, that shows up in the present and in your relationships, is to ask yourself if your emotional reaction to a situation fits the circumstance. Does your level of anger match what just occurred? When our emotional reaction to a situation does not quite fit the situation, we may not understand that something from our past continues to linger. In Emotion-focused therapy, this the unfinished business. The pain from the past has been left unresolved and remains with you today.
How can depression counseling help me?
With an empathic presence and gentle guidance, I work with you to safely identify, explore, and make sense of what is getting in the way of you moving forward in life. My role is to support you and guide you in this journey.
We will work together to access the emotional wounds, explore the feelings, identify and connect with what you needed, and help you to develop compassion for that part of you that has been hurt. I will offer you strategies and tools to help you bring about more positive change in your life. In this process. you can begin to connect with your inner resilience, your inner wisdom and your self-compassion. This effects lasting change within you.
My hope and goal for you, is that you will gain insight and wisdom in to what it is you are needing in order to live more abundantly. When you come to understand what your emotions are telling you, you begin to feel more empowered and comfortable with reaching out for what you are needing.
This healing process can open you up to something new and different. You can find a more fulfilling life, feel more lovingly connected, and have space in your life for pursuing your bliss.