Severe depression affects around 7.1% of American adults every year. Other people will experience milder forms of depression and even children suffer, too.
If you are struggling to manage depression right now, you are not the only one. As the stigma of mental health issues decreases, more and more ways to manage depression become available.
Some people use exercise, meditation, and/or therapy to manage depression. And the latter can offer lots of benefits. Read on to discover tips about managing depression and how a therapist can help you.
1. Find the Root of Your Depression
To be clear, a therapist will not bombard you with questions about your most traumatic experiences as soon as you walk into their office. They will help you find the root of your depression step-by-step.
They might start by asking you to fill in a calendar of your week along with your mood during each activity. This will help you both discover when you feel the most depressed. They will start to unpack those moments with you to see what the cause might be.
Then, your therapist will be able to give you specific exercises to help you manage depression.
2. Pinpoint Negative Thought Patterns
Many people that find coping with depression difficult have irrational negative thought patterns. These might be:
- No one likes me
- I’m a failure
- I’ll never be successful
- I always mess things up
These are overarching, unrealistic statements that are so unlikely to be true. Yet, they can often form the foundation of how you or other people with depression see themselves.
A therapist can interpret these negative thought patterns and help you realize they aren’t true with evidence from your own life.
3. Reduce Isolation and Loneliness
Do you feel like you don’t have any loved ones you can talk to about your depression? Everyone needs help to manage depression and so few can conquer it without support.
You can be sure that any private or blue cross blue shield therapist will treat you with respect and understanding. Saying your thoughts out loud to someone can help you realize how unrealistic and untrue they are.
4. Encourage You to Find Your Strengths
Your therapist will not ask you to go over traumatic experiences and list your failings in detail again and again.
They want to help you realize you are more than your depression. Even if you don’t think they exist, a therapist will be able to show you all your strong points and realize that you are not worthless.
5. Give You Manageable Homework
Weekly one-hour sessions with a therapist will help, but they know that you need to survive the other six days, too.
Therapists can give you exercises to complete during the week and other resources that might help. This might be journaling, taking a step out of your comfort zone, or performing an act of self-care.
Don’t Manage Depression Alone
Seeing a therapist will give you a safe space to talk about your issues without judgment and with genuine understanding. They will be able to help you develop the skills you need to manage depression and, someday, even beat it for good.
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