Counseling & Therapy for Depression
“Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.”
So often clients have shared with me feeling that they feel like they cannot “snap out of it.” The “it” being the feeling of feeling down, sad, feeling like they have no energy no motivation, no gusto. I have had clients say, "I feel like turning around in bed is too much of an effort." Others share “I just want to be alone.” These feelings may feel overwhelming, frightening and frustrating, but you do not have to endure these feelings alone.
The feelings described above could be part of a “funk” you are experiencing or those feelings could be symptoms of the much dreaded D word, Depression. Depression can be highly stigmatized in our society, but the reality is that many of us at one point in our lives have experienced some level of depression. It is also a condition that many people do not have empathy for, many people often believe that one can just “snap out of it,” and not recognize that depression is more complicated and requires support.
Depression does not have to define you, your life or your future. Depression can have you feeling many emotions, from sadness to anger to just plain apathy but together we can work to manage those feelings, to identify when episodes of depression are coming on to prevent getting deeper into a depressive cycle and to learn how to communicate with loved ones about what you are experiencing.
Depression can affect the manner you view yourself, the interactions you have in your relationships, your job performance and many other factors in your life and it is important to get the support that will help you understand more of what you are feeling and going through, understanding the facets that have lead to your depression, genetics, trauma, societal factors, etc and learning how to manage the feelings you are having. Within the therapy and counseling process we can work on increasing your self esteem, learning communication skills to enable you to share your feelings and we can explore the history of depression in your family and it’s impact on you in your life as well as learning how to understand your body sensations, feelings and symptoms as they come up.
Within the therapy process we can work together to help you feel more empowered and understand that having depression is not a personal character flaw but something that we all struggle with from time to time.
©Melissa Lopez
"...and then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin
All content found on this website is protected by © copyright 2010- 2017 | All Rights Reserved| Melissa Lopez, LCSW. Information found on this website is not intended to be used as psychological treatment. Should you be experiencing a psychological emergency please go to your nearest hospital emergency room, call 911 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), a free, 24-hour hotline. This site may also contain content from third party sources and/or links to content on other sites, Melissa Lopez, LCSW is not responsible for such content. Melissa Lopez is a Pasadena Psychotherapist who provides grief counseling techniques, marriage counseling, relationship therapy and works with adult individuals and couples covering Pasadena, Los Angeles, Glendale, South Pasadena, Eagle Rock, San Marino, Altadena and surrounding communities.