Depression and Depressive Disorders
Depression is not to be confused with sadness. Feeling sad is a normal emotional experience in life. It accompanies life events such as not getting that job you wanted, or splitting up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, or the death of a family pet. This sadness may provoke feelings listlessness, not wanting to meet with friends and socialise, irritability, and perhaps bouts of crying. If you are like most people, you know this low mood will pass. However, when debilitating feelings of low mood, lethargy and emptiness lingers from day to day, leaving you incapacitated and feeling like a ghost of your former self, you may be suffering from depression.
At the Midlands Counselling Clinic, we understand depression and the effects it can have on every aspect of your life. We know what it is like to be in a deep dark hole that you cannot climb out of, that crushing feeling on your chest, and if you were to scream you believe nobody will hear you. We are here to help you, to hear you, when you feel ready to talk.
Signs of a Major Depressive Episode
The most commonly assessed and most severe depression treated by us at the Midlands Counselling Clinic is called a major depressive episode. The following annotation comes from the American Psychiatric Association, 2013: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition.
To qualify for a diagnosis of a major depressive disorder by your doctor, you must experience five of the following criteria nearly every day over a two-week period. One of the five must include a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in activities.
- Feeling depressed mood most of the day, almost every day. The mood might be characterised by feelings of sadness, emptiness and hopelessness. This will be indicated by your own subjective report, or by the report of others such as family or close friends.
- A severely reduced interest or pleasure in all or almost all activities in life (including interaction with friends, work colleagues and family).
- A loss in appetite, significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain.
- Altered sleep pattern, an inability to sleep or oversleeping.
- Psychomotor agitation or retardation (observable by others, not merely subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down).
- Fatigue or loss of energy.
- Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day.
- Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day.
- Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.
How Can I Benefit from Depression Counselling?
Firstly, if you are suffering from any of the above you are alone. Depression is a very common condition which affects over 450,000 people in Ireland at any one time. Depression can be effectively treated at the Midlands Counselling Clinic through various therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Positive Psychotherapy or Person Centred Therapy.
At the Midlands Counselling Clinic, we have had the privilege to have helped many people from all walks of life to recover from depression and to live a full and meaningful life.
During treatment, we will help you to:
- Learn to relax and be at ease
- Improve you sleep pattern
- Wake up feeling more energised after a good night’s sleep
- Overcome negative self-talk
- Learn how lifestyle changes can greatly improve your wellbeing
- Feel a renewed interest in life and living
- Have healthy and happy relationships
- Learn how to accept and love yourself for who you are
- Restore your life to happiness
For Men
Research has demonstrated that men are less likely than women to ask for help or talk about their depression. Instead, men will often turn to alcohol or drugs to cope There are many reasons for this which we understand. We also know that men are between four and five times more likely to die by suicide than women are. If you are a male and you are reading this, we want you to know that we welcome your call, and will meet you with compassion and understanding.
Don’t Let Depression Steal Your Happiness – Call us now on
