Mental health is one of the most important, if not the most important, aspects of life. Without a healthy mental balance, everyday tasks and responsibilities can feel extremely overwhelming. Life can be challenging at times due to circumstances as well as brain chemistry that you were naturally born with. Understanding yourself and how your brain works can help you recognize when you are dealing with depression.
Depression is a medical condition that requires treatment. Treatment can include the use of antidepressant medications as well as talk therapy. Many doctors will recommend using both tools to aid in treatment of depression. Working with a therapist takes time and commitment, but it can be one of the most beneficial tools in helping to treat depression.
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Therapy Provides Coping Skills
When struggling with depression, it is easy to lose hope at times and wonder how you will function when every day life has to continue. Even though you may be struggling with your mental health, sometimes responsibilities must continue especially if you are a caregiver or parent. It is helpful to know you have allotted time to focus on yourself and your healing with a therapist.
As you work with the therapist, they can help teach you coping skills for specific circumstances and situations in your life. Many therapists use practical tips for you to take back to your own life and then reflect on during your next appointment. One of the main goals of working with a therapist is so that you feel equipped to handle problems as they arise in life. If a therapist notices one strategy isn’t working well, they will work with you to find new solutions to help.
A Therapist Helps Identify Triggers and Underlying Causes of Depression
Whether this is your first time struggling with depression, or it has been a concern for some time, a therapist can help get to the root of the cause and help you understand whether it is situational, biochemical or both. Sometimes it can be hard when you are stuck in your own thoughts to identify some of the signs and symptoms of depression.
This is where working with a therapist can be extremely beneficial, as they can give you an objective perspective from someone who isn’t a part of your everyday life. A therapist is trained to help show you the signs and symptoms of depression and then in turn help you learn to both deal with the symptoms as well as identify triggers that may start a depressive episode. If you start to learn how to identify triggers, you may be able to catch a depressive episode early before it becomes more intense.
Use Somatic Therapy to Release Tension and Stress
Even though you may be struggling with depression now, people often carry years of hurt with them which can continue to impact them in the present day. It is easy to neglect dealing with trauma or grief as sometimes it feels too painful to deal with in the moment. Next thing you know, it has been years since a traumatic event and emotions and feelings are resurfacing. Whether you realize it or not, your mind and body work together when dealing with stress.
Trained therapists often use a specific type of therapy to help with the treatment of depression and stress called somatic therapy. Somatic therapy combines traditional talk therapy with a body connection. Oftentimes therapists will pay attention to the body’s response as you are discussing certain events or topics. They will then help you release the tension from those events with movement and connection to your body such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga and even dance.
Research over the last few years especially has shown that bodies carry trauma and that somatic therapy is a great tool to help move past the hurt. Working with a professional and using somatic therapy, you will work on releasing emotions such as anger and sadness that you have been storing in both your memory and your body. Somatic therapy has proved to work wonders for many patients and is a great tool for working through depression.
Build Back Your Confidence With Your Therapist
One of the first things to go when you’re struggling with depression is your confidence. It’s hard to trust yourself when you feel like you can barely keep up with everyday responsibilities. This can contribute to a lack of interest in life which is a symptom of depression. Talking with a therapist is a way to help build that confidence that you once had. Because a therapist is a neutral party you can trust their feedback and you can also give them insight into who you were before you started struggling with depression.
Once a therapist has that insight they can continue to remind you of this as you have your sessions with them just in case you are struggling to keep sight of who you once were. The good news about working with a therapist and often taking medication as well is that eventually hope and joy will overcome the depression. And once you begin to feel those emotions again, your confidence will be even stronger because you will know you can survive dealing with depression.
As you begin to search for a therapist to work with, take some time to interview potential options. Looking for a therapist that is trained in somatic therapy can be a great tool to use in your healing. If you are already struggling with depressive episodes, you want to make sure you find someone that is a good fit for your mental health needs and that they are someone you feel safe with.
Remember that therapists are trained professionals that have experience dealing with patients with depression. They will be able to provide you with tools to take back and use when you are struggling. Working with a therapist when treating depression through an inpatient depression treatment program in Pembroke Pines helps ensure that you have a knowledgeable resource to give you support and help you get to the other side of healing.
