Dealing with Depression

by Dr. Janis Rosenberg, Ph.D.

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Many clients who come to private practice therapists have been suffering from anxiety and/or depression, and come with a range of well known symptoms of these disorders. Symptoms range from feeling blah or nervous, which may have been there for a long time, to more severe debilitating symptoms.

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Everyone can feel depressed, down, and feel irritable or easily upset for a few days or a week. If things remain this way or get worse over several weeks, it is a more serious problem. Some people with anxiety or depression ruminate about worries or negative beliefs and can't get these painful thoughts to stop.

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Depressed people feel hopeless, stuck, like they are in a hole. They may not be able to get up in the morning, get out of bed except to do the minimal to survive. Some are able to stay at work or school while others can't even handle their normal tasks. Other symptoms of concern are thinking about dying or hurting yourself, under or overeating, procrastinating, sleeping a lot or very little.

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Without getting help, symptoms may worsen with Major Depressive Disorder, which is the more serious type of depression. With chronic underlying depression, sometimes called "the blues" or "the blahs", clients may have adapted to living a depressed lifestyle, with little activity or motivation to change.

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Treatment
 

Either way, treatment can help. Even though the combination of psychotherapy and medication has been found to help mood disorders, many physicians will only prescribe medication. It's easier to get a patient to take a pill than to convince her to see a therapist. Often psychotherapy for a period of approximately 3 months can help raise a client’s awareness, inner resources, and mobilize change.

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Most clinicians agree that medication can be extremely helpful, even necessary with Major Depression, and helpful when the diagnosis is an Adjustment Disorder with Depression, since the symptoms can create intense suffering.

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However, without being able to make meaning of the situation, learn from the suffering, learn how to think and believe differently when stressful situations happen, people will continue to be sensitive to life's blows.

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The combination of medication and psychotherapy is the most effective way to treat depression. Many research studies have shown the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Interpersonal Therapy. Most "good" therapists use these methods, and form an healthy alliance with the client to motivate movements toward healthy thoughts, behaviors and emotions.

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EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) has also been proven to improve mood through changing negative beliefs and working through old trauma-based ideas about oneself.

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While medication can help improve depressive symptoms, it can't change the ability to have a more positive outlook, overcome negative beliefs and low self-esteem, or resolve past hurts that have caused the a depressive outlook. A positive therapy experience is needed for these kinds of changes.