Depression, Grief & Sadness
First, I want to welcome you on your path to recovery. Grief, sadness and depression often leave one with no energy or motivation to do anything. Yet here you are seeking help. In seeking help you are taking the first step toward improving your mood and getting back to your self.
I can help you to move beyond and find personal meaning from the events in your life that have brought you to this place from which you seek help. Grief and sadness are part of living. Everyone experiences these emotions in relation to events, which contain loss, disappointment, or unwanted change. These emotions are usually short in duration as one learns to cope and/or accommodate to the new circumstance that life has presented. However, sometimes these feelings linger.
Although stressful, some events are predictable and are a normal occurrence in most people's lives. While other events are out of the expected life experiences and therefore may take longer to integrate into one's life in a meaningful way. Additionally, some predictable stressors such as the death of a parent are more difficult to recover from. If one's experiences of loss and grief are not dealt with and instead pushed aside, these intense feelings can resurface each time a new loss is experienced. When profound grief and sadness seem unrelenting you may be experiencing unexpressed emotions from past as well as present stressors.
When grief and sadness are not attended to these emotions can turn into depression. When one is depressed there is a feeling of sadness and/or emptiness that last most of the day for at least two weeks. Along with this sadness there is usually a loss of pleasure or interest in doing the things you used to enjoy. You might be eating and sleeping more or less than what is normal for you and have a general loss of energy. You might feel worthless, or guilty and have difficulty making decisions or concentrating. You may have thoughts of harming yourself. If you are depressed your relationships and function at work are probably being affected.
Whether these feelings of sadness are a new experience for you, have occurred before in your life, or seem to have been with you most of your life, counseling can help alleviate your symptoms. You know how life feels right now and part of you might hesitate to make that first call for help. However, there is a part of you that decided to look for a therapist. Asking for help is a sign of strength. Why continue to allow grief, sadness, or depression hold you back from enjoying life?
