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Based in Beaverton, Oregon, serving clients across Oregon and Washington, in person and online.
PSYCHOEDUCATION
Depression
Depression is more than feeling sad or having a bad week.
Sadness is a common human emotion. It usually comes in response to something, and while it can hurt deeply, it tends to evolve and change over time.
Depression may feel different.
Sometimes it feels like sadness. It can also feel like emptiness, irritability, exhaustion, numbness, disconnection, or simply not caring about things you know you usually care about.
You may still be getting up, going to work, answering messages, taking care of other people, and doing everything you are supposed to be doing. You may also be struggling to get out of bed or get to work or other places on time. You may even feel like you're moving through Jell-O.
Why does depression happen?
Depression can develop through a combination of biology, stress, loss, trauma, chronic illness or pain, isolation, burnout, major life changes, long-standing patterns of self-criticism, substance use, or experiences that have made life feel smaller, heavier, or harder to navigate.
Sometimes there is an obvious trigger for your experiences. Sometimes there isn't.
“What has my mind and body been trying to carry for so long that this is how we are feeling?”
Depression is not a character flaw, laziness, or a failure to try hard enough. It is often a sign that something in your internal or external world has become difficult to sustain.
What can depression look like?
Depression does not always look like someone crying or struggling to get out of bed.
You're not feeling happiness or joy like you used todifficult to turn off
You are not enjoying things like you used to
You feel lonely or disconnected
You feel numb or like you just don't care
You're not feeling like yourself
You feel empty or overwhelmed
You feel tired all the time or that you have no energy
You feel worthless, helpless, or hopeless
You feel like you're a burden or feel guilty
You have a hard time concentrating
You're sleeping too much or too little
You may have thoughts like not wanting to wake up or thoughts of harming yourself
For some, depression can be obvious but it can be less so for others.
We can hide depression beneath productivity, humor, competence, caretaking, or even a very convincing version of “I’m fine.”
Why can everyday things feel harder?
One of the frustrating parts of depression is knowing what might help and still feeling unable to do it. You may know that getting outside, answering the text, taking a shower, making food, or seeing someone you care about would probably be good for you.
And your brain may respond:
Absolutely not.
That sounds impossible.
Then you
do less.
Life becomes
smaller.
There are fewer experiences.
Your brain notices this.
And the cycle gets stronger.
This does not mean the answer is to simply force yourself to “think positively” or become more productive.
It means depression can create patterns that may make sense in the moment but gradually make it harder to feel connected to yourself and your life.
How can therapy help with depression?
In therapy, we may also look at patterns of withdrawal, hopelessness, self-criticism, avoidance, perfectionism, or disconnection with curiosity.
Therapy does not require you to arrive motivated, optimistic, or already knowing what needs to change. We can start with what is actually happening.
This may mean exploring when the depression began, what seems to make it heavier or lighter, what your life has been asking of you, and what you have observed about yourself along the way
When we use curiosity instead of judgment, we can better understand what you have been experiencing instead of comparing you to “how you should be.”
From there, therapy might involve gradually rebuilding routines, relationships, meaning, pleasure, self-trust, or a sense of self-efficacy. We may work in areas of behavior, emotion, or cognition.
We may discuss and process your life events and goals in order to better understand what you have been carrying and how those experiences may be affecting the way you understand yourself and your life.
The goal is not to convince you that everything is fine.
It is to understand what has happened, or not happened, in your life that is contributing to depression. We may look at what keeps the pattern going and what might help create a life that feels more aligned with your values.