Therapy For Depression

What is depression?

Depression is a mental illness that affects how you act, think and feel. According to psychiatrists ¹ , depression is characterized by different symptoms that always include a feeling of sadness and / or a loss of interest in what was previously appreciated.

Decreased feelings of pleasure, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, or feeling of no value as an individual, depression can greatly affect the daily lives of individuals who have it.             

Because it can last several weeks, months, even years, with more or less intense symptoms, the depression must not be neglected and must be quickly taken care of.

The exact causes of depression are hard to define. Depending on the case and the individual, several factors may trigger the onset of this disease, such as heredity, events in life, the environment in which we live or our habits.             

Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, spoke of anger turned against oneself and being too demanding on oneself. Melanie Kleine, another great psychoanalyst, spoke of a period of integration of good and bad in the same person. Aaron T. Beck, the father of cognitive therapy, put the emphasis on excessive ruminations around negative themes: the self, the present world and the future, all denigrated, which prevents the person from perceiving the world in a meaningful and satisfactory way. Psychology researcher Martin Seligman emphasized the learned helplessness: a series of failures would have taught the person in depression that they can not change their lot, causing them to experience discouragement and refuse to try to escape.             

These theories are all more complex than what is depicted here. Combined, they make it possible to understand the depression and the difficulties met by the person who undergoes it.             

In addition to the psychic aspect, certain medical disorders can cause symptoms similar to those of depression. This is why, in parallel with a full evaluation by a psychologist qualified in depression , it is recommended to do a medical analysis. These will help to understand if it is indeed a depression or some other medical ailment.

The Relief of Depression

Depression is a disease that does not resolve alone and requires outside help. Thus, to relieve depression, it is often necessary to do some work on oneself through meetings with a psychologist.             

The psychologist welcomes the suffering person and explores with them their reality, the bereavements that need to be lived and the aspects of their personality that need to be integrated, but which are refused. From the perspective of mental recovery, the psychologist helps the patient to make peace with themselves, to accept themselves more, to rediscover their resources and to take a new look at life. It is through these encounters and through this work that the symptoms of depression decrease or even disappear.             

More generally, psychotherapy also helps increase self-esteem , another of our specialties, which is always affected in people with depression.