Depression
On Paper Life Isn’t Bad, But The Way You Feel Doesn’t Match Up
Depression symptoms can look a lot different from person to person. It can be so debilitating you can barely get out of bed, or it can be a lingering sense of listlessness with everything you are doing. One thing is for certain: life feels smaller and less meaningful.
You feel discontent all the time.
You’ve worked hard to get where you are, but you feel like you can’t enjoy it as much as you would like. Even though life is pretty good, it just doesn’t feel that way. Instead, it feels like you’re just passing through.
Things feel stuck, and you’re always in a depressed mood.
There is a critic in your head who is always judging you unfavorably. You find yourself asking, “What’s the point?”.
People always remind you how good you’ve got it. You even tell yourself you shouldn’t feel this way; life could be a lot worse. As true as those statements may be, they don’t make you feel any better.
You know all the things you “should” be doing. Eat right, exercise, get enough sleep… You’re either doing them already or just don’t have the motivation for them.
What Depression Might Look Like:
- Feeling like a failure
- Lingering sense of discontentment
- Never feeling like “enough” and having very little self-esteem
- Just going through the motions
- Comparing yourself to others unfavorably
- Feeling like things are never good enough
- Feeling tired and fatigued all the time
- A nagging critic in your head that just won’t shut up
I Can Help You Get Unstuck With Depression Therapy
Working together, we can reduce the intensity and influence of depression in your everyday life. Depression is more than a feeling; it is a whole process. We work together to identify the negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can keep you stuck in depression. Then, we build an actionable plan with coping skills to get you unstuck.
You’ll learn skills to change your relationship with negative thought patterns and feelings and skills to change the way you respond to them. Changing these responses and relationships is a way to reduce the impact and influence of depression on your life.
Together, we will set goals that are meaningful for you and build patterns of behavior to get you there. Science can’t tell us what to value or how to value it, but it does tell us that living in line with our values can radically improve our quality of life. An improved quality of life can bring a sense of meaning and purpose that just might stop the struggles with “what’s the point”?
I have spent more than a decade helping men end their struggle with depression. My practice is grounded in well-researched, reliable, and evidenced-based methods. Together, we use these methods to identify old, unhelpful, counterproductive behavioral patterns and then build more flexible, adaptive behavioral patterns.
Reach Out Now to Schedule an Appointment
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can Depression Therapy Help Me?
The men I work with often say, “I know the things I need to do, but I don’t do them”. And they are right; they know what they need to do, but it’s easier said than done. Depression counseling and therapy help to make sense of the gaps between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and build the skills necessary to get unstuck from them and move out of depression. I understand the importance of better understanding your depression and getting back to doing the things you love. We will work together to identify the sources of your depression and provide techniques and methods unique to your health needs and goals.
What Issues Can Depression Therapy Treat?
The symptoms of depression can vary depending on your age, culture, or environment. Therapy helps with “traditional” symptoms of depression, such as sadness, apathy, isolation, fatigue, and insomnia. Therapy also helps with less traditional (and sometimes more masculine) presentations of depression, such as anger, substance abuse, and distractibility.
Which Therapy Method Is Best For Depression?
Mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy have all been effective in treating depression. I work closely with men to create a specialized therapy plan specific to the unique details of their lives. The goal of treatment is to help you get back on the right track and enjoy life.
How Long Will Therapy Last?
The length of therapy depends on your unique circumstances. Six sessions is usually a good benchmark to evaluate if we are making initial progress and heading in the right direction. Most often, my clients attend therapy for six months to a year, though many continue past that point as their needs and goals evolve. As we meet, we have ongoing discussions about your needs to ensure therapy is still of benefit to you. My goal as your depression therapist is to help you become the best version of yourself and eventually maintain that version without my help.