Psychoanalytic Treatment

Depression Treatment in Denver

Overwhelmed? Do you feel like you can’t take the pain anymore? Does it seem that no matter what you try to do you can’t escape the loneliness, desperation, and isolation? Do you feel like you have no control over your feelings? Like you are sinking within the darkest depths of your being where it’s just you and your hurt? It feels like you are always in your head in a state of complete paralysis.

If you feel this way, then you may be dealing with depression. Depression affects every single aspect of your life: you might have trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, you lose interest in the things that used to bring you joy, you either eat too much or too little, have trouble focusing, concentrating, and remembering details, unexplained headaches or pains, your emotions go up and down without any visible reason, you’re feeling sad, worthless and helpless and always criticizing yourself; your anxiety levels are up and once in a while or sometimes quite often you find yourself thinking that suicide might be the answer to your problems.

The truth is, you can’t reason with depression; nobody can. Its only reason is self-punishment. It makes you feel inert and inflexible in a way that retards some of your most basic cognitive abilities and faculties. When depression sets in you are blinded by the dullness of your emotions. It’s hard to pull yourself up and many times you lose the ability to even will it. You feel like giving up entirely, after all isn’t everything pointless?

You are staring your depression in the face and you feel like your hands are tied and there is no solution or relief.

Your depression does not ask if this is a good time to experience it. No, depression sneaks in, and without realizing it takes over your entire life and every single aspect of it: your day-to-day ability to function, your confidence and self-worth, and your relationships. When you are depressed everything feels like a lie, you feel like you’re a liar.

When you are unable to perform even the most basic everyday tasks (like getting dressed and going to work) everything becomes too much to handle. You may be missing work or school, feel stressed and overwhelmed by things that didn’t use to affect you, and you may start feeling afraid of losing your job and/or your relationships. When the ones who love you try to comfort you, you resist them and push them away because you might not want to burden them or you might think that there is nothing they can do anyways.

You don’t have as much patience with yourself and others and sometimes it feels like you could even hurt someone, although instead you only end up closing yourself even more.

Depression knows no bounds and can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, or social status. Sometimes, even the people you look at with admiration for their energy, enthusiasm, and zest for life are affected by depression.

If you’ve been dealing with depression for a very long time the cause might be hidden in an early life traumatic experience that you may or may not be aware of. If this is the first time you are feeling this way, then your depression may be caused by a significant event in your life (such as the loss of a loved one). Regardless of the causes of your depression, all you know is that if something doesn’t change soon, you’re probably going to lose it. You feel like you’ve slipped past the point of salvation, of help.

Depression is a common issue with 1 in 10 adults reporting suffering from it in the US. The good news is that depression is very treatable with the help of depth therapy.

Solution

1. Comprehensive depression treatment

The depression treatment I offer is very comprehensive and targeted to relieving your current symptoms as well as getting to the root causes of your depression and resolving the feelings surrounding it. One of my mottos is “You can’t go to battle and win without knowing who your enemy is”. The first step in depression treatment is getting to know your enemy (depression) down to the smallest details and becoming aware of all the areas within yourself that are affected by it. The pain and suffering you’ve been feeling will be gradually replaced by a whole new level of self-understanding and resiliency which will help you face the problems you are dealing with, work through them, and resolve them for good.

2. No longer alone

Feeling alone and isolated are some of the most common reasons why people who struggle with depression find it hard to help themselves. As a depth therapist I am well versed in the inner workings of our minds and affect, and I am quite familiar with the tricks that depression makes up to confuse you and put you on the wrong path. In choosing depth therapy for depression treatment, you are making the decision to share the burden of your depression so that you can make room for clarity and to focus on working through it and resolving it.

The form of depression treatment I use has helped people understand the root causes of their depression, feel better both in the short and long term, and put them back in control of their lives. Aside from my extensive experience treating depression and clinical training gained on two continents (US and Europe), the thing that sets me apart from most other Denver therapists is that I have a very deep insight into the mechanics of depression and what works best because I have dealt with my own depression. In fact, most of the people who come into my office for depression treatment have said that the biggest advantage in working with me was that I helped them truly see all the hidden corners of their minds and affect, create a map of their psyche that they can use to navigate any issue, not just depression.

Even though you might feel like depression relief is impossible to attain, I can prove the opposite; you can feel the way that you did before. Depression treatment is very effective especially if you are willing and open to clarify your perspective and try some new things. In time, the feelings of worthlessness will be replaced by confidence and empowerment and the isolation replaced by a willingness to engage.

But how about…

• I’m too far down into my depression. What’s the point of even trying?

You know, you might be right, you might be too far down into your depression but what does that really mean and how can you know for certain? Are you able to find any evidence that will prove that you are past the point of help? If so, can you clearly and rationally make a case for it? The truth is that when you are dealing with depression how something feels is almost always different than what is. I work best with people like you, who feel like they (or their problems) are too much for anyone to handle, even if that person is a shrink. Give my comprehensive depression treatment a try for 1 month, that’s it. No long-term commitment and no pressure to stick around. It has been my experience that people notice improvements in how they feel in a manner of weeks, and based on my experience I think you will too.

• Nothing worked in the past, depression treatment won’t work either.

That’s certainly one way to look at it and even though you have learned quite a bit from your experience with trying things, you simply can’t know for sure whether comprehensive depression treatment will work or not unless you try it. Remember, you are only committing to one month and with the exception of a few hours and $, nothing to lose.

• I don’t like the idea of taking meds

I hear you! There are a lot of people who are weary of taking medication for mental health issues because of the possible risks and negative effects. The good news is that plenty of research indicates that depression treatment is just as effective by the use of therapy alone without medication. I don’t medicate people and I seldom suggest it. I believe that you can work through your depression and resolve the feelings surrounding it without medication.

• I am afraid that working through my depression will open a can of worms I don’t want to deal with.

This is a very valid concern and one that keeps many people from seeking depression treatment. There are times when the root causes of depression are linked/traced back to traumatic events, particularly during childhood and I can really appreciate your hesitation in opening that can of worms. You will not be alone in therapy, and I will be there to guide you and find the safest paths for you to navigate through those issues. The truth is though that if your depression is caused by an old trauma, the only way to resolve it is by facing it. Even though I am there every step of the way, the decision to deal with painful memories and experiences is entirely yours and you are also the one who sets the speed of that process. Maybe you are not feeling ready now to open that can of worms, but leaving those feelings unattended and repressed will only complicate things more in the future. The deep seeded issues you are dealing with are not going to go anywhere and you will continue to feel stuck in your depression unless you are willing to call them out and challenge them.

• I’m an artist, what if the depression treatment will make my creativity vanish.

This is a very common and unhelpful myth that has been going around, especially in the arts communities. I am an artist myself, a photographer, who has dealt with depression in the past. I too believed during that time that if my depression improves, my creativity is going to take a dive. In reality, addressing my issue with depression treatment had absolutely no effect on my creativity levels and output (read my article to learn more).

I appreciate you reading all this. I know it’s a lot to take in, so take some time to mull it over. Bookmark my page and stop by my blog once in a while to get more insight and if you have questions, drop me a line.