Feeling depressed is different from feeling sad. While feeling sad is a normal and healthy response to difficult experiences, depression generally has a feeling of “stuckness” to it. The world feels hopeless and dark. Dealing with depression can feel like you’ve fallen into a deep hole with no escape. Depression is a serious, debilitating condition that can impact every area of your life. It can cause changes in your sleep patterns, appetite, energy level, mood, ability to think and concentrate, and ability to connect to others.
While depression can be triggered by many factors, including hormonal changes, physical illness and genetic factors, one of the primary causes of depression is the inability to properly grieve the pain you’ve experienced. Perhaps you internalized messages from your family and society that view grief and sadness as signs of weakness. So you hold in your sadness and just keep going. Or perhaps you feel you are at fault for the difficulties in your life. Blaming yourself prevents you from acknowledging and releasing your pain, which feeds the depression. When sadness and grief have no outlet, depression is often the result.
There is a way out of depression. The way out includes feeling and exploring the feelings and beliefs feeding your depression in the safe space of a supportive relationship. If you are interested in seeking therapy for depression, contact me to set up an initial free consultation: mindfulness-based therapy