Therapy for Depression & Mood Disorders in Decatur, Atlanta, and Georgia
Experiencing life through the lens of depression can feel restrictive and isolating. To make it worse, society often labels people with depression as too emotional or sensitive. But if you are living with depression you know the reality - this mood disorder is more than just feeling sad. Depression blunts the vibrancy of other feelings, and steals your joy, anticipation, passion, and sometimes even anger.
It’s important to remember you do not have to navigate depression by yourself. At Fleurish, our therapists are ready to walk alongside you to rediscover your joy.
Is It Sadness or Depression?
Sadness is a healthy emotion even though it can be painful to experience. Depression is much more than “just” sadness, and the main difference between depression and sadness is the scope. You may temporarily experience sadness while dealing with work or engaging in social activities, but when it’s just sadness, you will find it has a clear cause and is short-lived. Depression can control every aspect of your life. Keeping you from enjoying yourself or making you feel physically bad. Sadness allows you to express the emotion surrounding a difficult experience and process your feelings, but depression prevents you from healing and growing.
Some common ways that people describe their experiences with depression include:
Instead of lessening with time, you feel increasingly depressed as the days go by.
You feel generally sad, hollow, or hopeless.
Past memories haunt you, leaving you feeling guilty, ashamed, or worthless.
It starts to feel like other emotions and experiences are muted by depression.
You no longer want to do the activities you used to love.
You feel like you don’t have the energy to complete minor tasks.
You suddenly want to eat everything or you don’t want to eat anything at all.
You’re tired all the time and just want to sleep. Sometimes, you do sleep all day.
You have trouble sleeping at night when you’re supposed to be sleeping.
Work is piling up, but you can’t get motivated to do it.
It’s difficult to pay attention at work and at home.
You just don’t enjoy doing any of the things you used to love.
Everything seems to make you angry lately. Then, you just feel guilty that you got mad.
Should I Consider Therapy?
Depression may start as sadness related to a specific life challenge or may seem to just happen, but over time, this mood disorder permeates every aspect of your life. It can be extremely difficult to overcome depression on your own, but the good news is – you don’t have to. Therapy can help you to recognize signs of depression, understand depressive thinking and feeling, and learn new ways of processing depression. If depression has changed who you are and stolen happy moments from you, it may be time to talk with one of our counselors.
Will I Need to Take Medication?
The decision to take medication for depression is a personal one, and our counselors don’t actually prescribe antidepressants or other drugs. However, we can refer you to professionals who do prescribe medications if you’re interested in learning more. Our therapists will also talk to your general physician about possible medication options if you prefer to work with a doctor you know.
What Happens During Therapy for Depression & Other Mood Disorders?
People often think of therapy as just talking, and setting aside time to talk about how you’re feeling and what you’re experiencing is an important element of counseling. However, we think it’s more important to partner with our clients to start making real, positive change and growth. During your initial therapy session, your counselor will talk to you about your current experience and your therapy goals. Then, we’ll partner with you to get from where you are now to where you want to be – even if that endpoint changes. At each session, we’ll discuss what’s been happening since your last visit. You’ll learn coping skills and strategies for overcoming depressed mood, and your therapist will encourage you to take these new skills out into your real-life between sessions. We may call this “homework,” but don’t worry, you’re not going to be graded. Instead, we’ll talk about how things went and what you would like to do differently. All of this is done at your pace and in your time.
Let's Take the First Step of Your Journey Together
Taking the first step to feeling better and living a more meaningful life isn’t easy, but you don’t have to take that step alone. Reach out to the Fleurish Psychotherapy team today, and one of our skilled therapists will take that step with you. When you’re ready, let’s get started.