"I go into the restroom at work and cry … and I don’t even know why… I feel so sad. Like the world around me is darker somehow ..."
Depression - A case of depression can feel like a heavy, sad dullness of body and soul. Whether mild or severe, it can cause aches and pains, it stands between you and all the things you want to do, robs you of small pleasures, and exhausts you in the process. It can mean missed days of work, and can make it difficult to be around people - even the people most important to you. Many hesitate to seek help for depression, hoping it will pass by itself; the problem is that when depression gets deeper, it's hard to mobilize the energy for getting help. Depression is treatable!
My approach is tailored to you; you set the pace, and we find our direction together. I often integrate mindfulness-based CBT into the first stage to help ease symptoms and get you 'unstuck'. (Mindfulness is a skill, and a potential source of wisdom about yourself that can serve you for life; these techniques can be helpful handholds in your day as you get through the first several weeks.) Attentive, empathic exploration dissipates the awful aloneness of depression, facilitates deeper understanding, and true recovery. In severe depression, medication can work synergistically with therapy to alleviate tougher symptoms, and give you your life back.
When depression receives the serious, compassionate attention it deserves, light begins to show at the end of the tunnel.
About conversation, and therapy