Depression
Feeling Depressed
People often talk of ‘feeling depressed’. Whether or not this feeling would comply with the formal diagnostic definition of clinical depression, the reality is that experiencing a consistently low mood affects our quality of life and often, by extension, that of our loved ones.
A visit to your GP with maybe some medication can be an important part of your treatment. However, talk therapies, often CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), can be a very effective and empowering way to tackle low mood and depression.
Depression can often exist alongside other mental health problems such as anxiety or PTSD. This is called comorbid depression.
Specifically, depression has a number of widely recognized symptoms which include:
- Change in appetite (loss of or comfort eating)
- Poor concentration
- Poor memory recall
- Lethargy & decreased motivation; loss interest in activities previously enjoyed
- Loss of libido
- Irritability or flattened emotions
- Feelings of futility and hopelessness
- Self-neglect
- Sleep disturbance (too much / too little)
The symptoms of depression can lead us to respond in a way that perpetuates the effects and maintains a cycle of depression. For example, we feel lethargic, stay in bed all day, feel fed-up and guilty about wasting the day, and then can’t sleep that night.
Effective depression counselling
If some of the above symptoms feel familiar to you and you live in North Devon, contact Loraine as a first step towards recovery and an improved quality of life.