Depression Therapy
Do you feel too exhausted and unmotivated to pursue change?
Have you been feeling hopeless about the future and disinterested in the activities you normally enjoy? Lately, have you found yourself:
Withdrawing from friends and family and spending more time alone?
Feeling irritated at every little inconvenience, no matter how small?
Declining invitations to social events and opportunities to advance your career?
Maybe you continually oversleep yet still wake up exhausted the next day. Perhaps you have little motivation to get out of bed and feel like you are dragging yourself through the workday. As you half-heartedly check assignments off your to-do list, you wonder: What is the point? What am I really striving for?
As soon as you get home from work, you feel little interest in engaging with your children, your spouse, or your friends. The hobbies and passions that would normally occupy you feel like a chore, and you find yourself zoning out on the sofa. As a result, maybe you are considering working with a therapist who treats depression.
Depression often goes hand in hand with feelings of failure
When you look at your life today, perhaps it is nothing like the future you envisioned for yourself years ago. The more you reconcile your expectations for yourself with the reality before you, the more you might feel like you have failed. This could wipe out any motivation to pursue change. Although you probably long for a better career and a more fulfilling life, the steps to get there may feel insurmountable or simply not worth the effort.
Instead of focusing on what could happen now, you might find yourself dwelling on past mistakes and regrets and wondering what could have been.
If this is how you feel, it may be worth pursuing depression therapy. Between your commitment and my support, I am confident that we can get to the root of your depression and take the steps necessary for building a happier and more fulfilling life.
If this sounds like a good fit, all you have to do is fill out this form to get started.
Depression is inevitable in a culture rife with unrealistic expectations
From a young age, American culture sells us an image of having it all—a career with meteoric upward mobility, a healthy, thriving relationship, a cohesive happy family, a comfortable home, exciting vacations, and a secure retirement. Social media only amplifies these expectations, selectively showing us highlight reels of "everyone else" living out their American dreams.
Naturally, as many of us age, we realize that having it all is not exactly realistic. And even when we do achieve our dreams, they are rarely ever what we imagine them to be. Work is usually a drag with limited advancement, home life often ends up feeling strained, and many of us are left with little time for ourselves.
This discrepancy between our expectations and the reality before us is one of the major factors contributing to depression. We find ourselves mourning the loss of our hopes, our dreams, and our ambitions.
In some cases, that sense of loss is even more literal, such as when we lose a loved one, a job, or a relationship that matters deeply to us. Regardless of what the causes of depression are, however, it is important to seek help. A counselor can provide the tools, skills, and knowledge to manage depression symptoms effectively and live a more motivated and empowered life.
Depression therapy can help you navigate a post-loss world
Our entire experience of the world stems from what we believe and how we internally process each moment. As such, even if nothing in the world changes, everything about how you experience it can. This is what we will work on together in therapy. The goal is to help you shift your perspective and adjust your habits so that no matter what is going on around you, you can move through life with grace, understanding, and peace of mind.
Throughout our work together, you and I will explore questions like:
What did you expect to achieve by this point in your life?
Where did your expectations for yourself come from?
What seems to be missing right now?
How does your current situation stack up to the expectations you once had for yourself?
From there, we can work on defining where the “loss” that gave rise to depression came from. And once we identify what was lost, we can focus on what that says about your worldview, identity, and hopes and dreams. In this way, depression therapy often focuses on helping you navigate a post-loss world—now that the old vision for your life is gone, where do you go from here and what kind of skills can help you move forward?
Tailoring my approach to depression therapy
I draw from a wide range of approaches in depression counseling and always individualize treatment to match the needs of each client. Depending on what suits you best, I may utilize:
Mindfulness Practices to help you cope with depression symptoms more effectively and enhance your sense of self-compassion.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to understand and challenge the beliefs, expectations, and thought patterns that gave rise to your experience of depression.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help you accept the factors outside of your control and commit to living a life that aligns with your goals and values.
Solution-Focused Therapy to assist you in adjusting your habits and behaviors so that you can foster greater wellbeing and lessen the impact of your depression symptoms.
Ultimately, no matter how hopeless or impossible things seem right now, change is always within reach. By giving you strategies, frameworks, and tools for tolerating and reducing your depression symptoms, I am confident that I can help you renew your sense of motivation and reclaim the energy needed to engage with life again.
You may have some questions about depression therapy…
What if I feel depressed but nothing bad happened to trigger it—should I still seek treatment?
If you are experiencing depressive symptoms that impact your functioning, something is amiss. Even if there was no trauma, loss, or other event that triggered the onset of your symptoms, the reality is that these depression symptoms are making it difficult to function, and that alone is enough to justify seeking treatment.
Will I have to go on medication?
Medication can be helpful for a lot of people with depression, especially when coupled with psychotherapy, but it is not a requirement for treatment. In general, antidepressants can help mitigate some physiological aspects of clinical depression while therapy can provide coping tools and deeper understanding. If you are interested in trying medication, I would be happy to refer you to a prescriber.
Can I be depressed even if I am still functioning well at home and at work?
High-functioning depression is a very real possibility—like many people, you might be able to push through each day and stay on top of your responsibilities. Even so, that does not mean that clinical depression is not present. If you are wondering about whether you have depression, then you are likely experiencing something that would be good to explore—even if it is not depression. Therapy is a chance to examine your mental health on a deeper level so that you can get the answers you need.
From empty and unmotivated to energized and fulfilled
If you want to challenge thoughts of powerlessness and hopelessness and start living a more mindful and empowered life, I would be honored to help you. To learn more about my depression counseling services, you can email me or fill out the contact form. I look forward to hearing from you!
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Depression Therapy
in Wausau, WI
300 N 3rd Street
Suite 302
Wausau, WI 54401
Virtual services are also available across Wisconsin.