While life is often marked with seasons of gaiety and feeling fulfilled, that’s not the whole story. In life, there are sad occasions and periods that one experiences, and these are part of what it means to live in our world. However, if you or a loved one find yourself experiencing feelings of sadness for a prolonged period, depression may be at the root of it.

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What Is Depression?

Depression is more than having feelings of sadness or feeling down, though that often accompanies it. Rather, depression is a mood disorder that affects how a person thinks and feels. Depression may be accompanied by feelings of sadness, though that isn’t always the case. The symptoms of depression will vary from individual to individual, and their severity will also differ. Often, depression will result in symptoms that persist for two weeks or more such as:

  • loss of pleasure or interest in previously pleasurable activities
  • lower libido or sexual desire
  • irritability and anger outbursts
  • withdrawing from others, and becoming socially isolated
  • changes in appetite, leading to unintentional weight gain or loss
  • troubles with sleeping, such as sleeping too much or experiencing insomnia
  • feeling agitated and restless
  • feeling fatigued and lethargic
  • feelings of worthlessness or guilt
  • having difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
  • recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
  • attempts of suicide

Depression is more than just feeling sad or down. Experiencing grief or trauma can lead to symptoms that look similar to depression, but that is one of the ways grief works in our lives. Depression goes deeper and often isn’t connected to a person’s circumstances. However, the effects of depression are real, and one can’t simply get over or push through the symptoms of depression.

Depression requires treatment because it can affect a person’s well-being significantly. That treatment can take the form of self-help such as taking exercise, eating a healthy diet, or sharing your concerns with a friend when the depression is mild to moderate in nature. With severe or major depression, these home remedies are helpful, but they need to be combined with counseling and medication.

The main method of treating depression is talk therapy, medication, or a combination of the two; most people benefit from using both antidepressants and talk therapy. In those instances where a person has severe depression resulting in their being unable to properly care for themselves or putting them at risk of hurting themselves or others, they may require a hospital stay or need to join an outpatient treatment program until their symptoms improve.

Different types of talk therapy can help with addressing depression, and these include interpersonal therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Interpersonal therapy focuses on your relationships with other people in your life, and the positive or negative role they may play in your depression, while cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on your thoughts, feelings, and behavior and how that can affect your well-being.

Counseling or talk therapy helps you in several ways, including the following:

  • helping you to think through your problems to find different and better ways of addressing them
  • helping you to adjust to a current crisis or difficult situation through constructive coping mechanisms and cultivating your problem-solving skills
  • overcoming unhealthy thoughts, like feelings of hopelessness, by identifying negative beliefs and behaviors and replacing them with healthy, positive ones
  • exploring your relationships and experiences, helping you learn how to interact with others constructively
  • developing your ability to deal with and accept stressful situations, teaching you to set realistic goals, and regain a sense of satisfaction and control over your life, which helps ease symptoms of depression like hopelessness and anger

Counseling can, through identifying the issues and behaviors that contribute to your depression, help to equip you to change the behaviors that worsen your depression as you move forward in life with more positive behaviors and ways of thinking.

Conclusion

Life has its ups and downs, its moments of joy and levity along with sadness and sorrow. If you or a loved one are struggling with persistent symptoms that indicate depression, you should see a doctor or a mental health professional for a proper diagnosis. Loma Linda Christian Counseling can help you and your loved work through your concerns and any issues that stand in the way of your flourishing.

Depression is a mood disorder that requires treatment, and the good news is that there are effective and rigorous counseling techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy that can help one overcome depression, particularly when used alongside antidepressants.

These techniques and medication can be used within a Christian faith-based outlook that supports holistic healing for your mind, body, and spirit.  If you want to find a Christian counselor in the Loma Linda area, consider Loma Linda Christian Counseling, and contact us for a risk-free trial session.

Get connected with a Christian Counselor
Please contact our reception team at
(424) 438-2888