Are you depressed?
Depression is a pain you can’t see.
It’s a state of being. You may feel profoundly sad, lethargic and guilty. Or you may feel nothing—a deafening emptiness inside. You may feel like there is a negative inner voice criticizing you constantly, leaving you with a chronic sense of guilt and low self worth. Depression can actually be the gateway, or the path, to an unmet need.
Depression has many causes.
But they can be split clearly into two categories: biological or environmental. For some, there is an inherited chemical imbalance. For others, life events, often those that occur in childhood, create a depressive state. Yours may be one or the other—or both. Either way, you can get relief.
Some depression is actually grief.
Many have suggested that grief is love that has no where to go. And loss is part of life. Over time we lose people we love. After we experience a loss the world can feel like an empty space—a void. Depression and grief share many of the same symptoms, but their treatments have important differences.
Depression looks different on everyone.
For some, depression is a distinct phenomenon that has a beginning, middle and end. For others, depression comes and goes, for a long time. Depression can also be experienced as a chronic state of being. When treating depression, I take a holistic approach by considering all of the factors that can cause, and exacerbate, a depressive state.
