Dr. Ginger Martire – Saratoga, CA
If you are suffering from depression, you should definitely try it for the following reasons:
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The art of listening
Many studies show that just the simple act of telling your story to an attentive, non-judgmental listener will help lift your mood.
If you are suffering from depression, the difference after just the first counseling session will be noticeable. You will likely feel more calm, more connected and more positive.
A professional counsellor is a trained expert in listening methods and asking follow up questions that help you lift dark moods and low energy states.
The therapist knows that the common request by your friends, colleagues and family, to ‘pull yourself together’ and ‘get over it’ usually does more harm than good if you suffer from depression. If it was that easy you would do it! The therapist is also not overwhelmed and helpless in the face of your depression, even if it is quite severe.
Therapy also helps with your mood because it affirms that your suffering is real. It assures that there is also hope to manage and perhaps overcome. The therapist has helped other clients to deal with their depression before.
- Understanding and analysis
The main objective of therapy is to understand yourself.
The counsellor will teach you new ways of observing what you are doing and feeling in your life. He or she will help determine what triggers depressive episodes and what improves them. Looking at how you got to this place is the foundation of all the work you will do together.
As you go through this process, your mood will improve because it puts you in a more active position. You are the storyteller, you are the expert on your own life.You have the power to understand and analyze – you are no longer the helpless victim of your depression.
- You have an ally
Your therapist is your ally when you are suffering from depression.
Depression can make you feel very alone, and you may actively isolate yourself from others because you have low energy and you don’t feel you can connect. Your therapist is there to tackle all your thoughts and feelings with you, even those you hardly dare to admit to yourself.
Your therapist will not judge you and you don’t have to please him or her. Even if you get angry or very pessimistic, your therapist will not give up on you. He or she is your ally in your fight to overcome suffering from depression.
Your therapist has only one agenda: to help you manage your depression and,to help you, find ways in which you can transform your life.
Having an ally is a very comforting feeling. Particularly when your depression tells you that you are worth nothing and nobody likes you. It is also a real tool for healing.
- Positive coping strategies
If you are suffering from depression, you have probably tried many coping strategies of your own. Some of them are quite negative, leading potentially to further mental health issues, like substance addiction, excessive anger or blaming other people. In therapy, you can learn new and positive coping strategies that fit your individual case. You can try them out and get feedback in your next session.
An experienced therapist will encourage you to develop your own coping strategies and help you if they don’t work immediately. These strategies will improve your mood both in the session and in your life overall. Once you have learned them, and learned how to create them, you can use this positive coping tool for the rest of your life.
- Long term benefits of therapy
Therapy does a lot more for you than simply improve your mood. Over time, as you start to process the underlying issues that contribute to your depression and that played a big part in creating your depression in the first place, your whole outlook on life may be transformed.You will not only feel better, you will find a different way to experience your life and respond to the world around you.
I found it interesting that you mentioned how going to counseling could help you find different ways to experience life. If you know how to cope with different situations, you may be more willing to be a part of that, so that makes sense. Keeping track of what you learn so you remember them outside of sessions may also help.
Yes, therapy can be very helpful in helping combat depression.
Ginger, thanks for some tips to help depression. You make a good point about how therapy can be a great way for you to understand how to better listen and feel like you have a friend and ally to talk to when you are feeling down. I would think that it is important to seek help and try to gain a new perspective, so you can keep moving forward in a positive manner.
You are right, Marie! Seeking help is key.