Feeling depressed is very hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it. It is not simply just being sad.
There may be a lot of other feelings that go along with it. Sometimes a common theme can be lack of action. For those who are really suffering, a basic action like brushing your teeth can feel insurmountable. When combined with other unhealthy, negative or addictive behaviours that come with depression, the symptoms can be magnified and it can quickly become a downward spiral.
To move past depression, it is critical for clients to get to the root causes and learn over time to take actions that lead to new, healthier feelings. The ability to care, accept and love our authentic self, and determine our sense of meaning and purpose are often key issues to be explored with a trained therapist. Learning to love and accept our authentic selves is one of the hardest, yet most important things we can do in our lives.
