Depression Help for Santa Rosa residents - Licensed depression counselor

Depression can debilitate our mind and body; it can disrupt our appetite, sleeping patterns, vitality, mental attutude, relationships, productivity, clairty and self esteem. Depression can be such a lonely condition, causing us to isolate and become hyper-critical of our apparent inability to get on top of things.

If you relate to this, you are not alone! Almost 10% of us in the United States experience some form of depression in our lives.

You don't have to feel this way. There is hope. 80-90% of the people who seek help feel better within two weeks. Depression is no time to go it alone. It's so tempting to think that you should be happy, and then berate yourself because you aren't. I invite you to give yourself a break, adopt a bit of humility about what you should be able to do and reach out for help. I would be happy to speak with you and answer any questions you have.

..... And here is more information .... if you are in the mood for more reading

Many people who are depressed don't reach out for help. For many, especially men, depression is seen as a personal weakness or failure that they should be able to just get over. If you are used to being able to handle things on your own it can be a stretch to ask for help. Some people are so used to feeling the symptoms of depression, it just feels like their "normal" and it doesn't occur to them to seek help. For others depression can be masked by drug or alcohol use. Alcohol or drugs allows for a temporary relief, but ultimately perpetuates depression and bad feelings, leading to another temporary solution with alcohol or drugs ... whew, what a vicious cycle!

What causes depression?

The three most common reasons cited for causing depression are:

• Painful or traumatic life events. Grief over painful losses can build to a depression. Today's economy can trigger depression as people endure loss of home, repeated job losses and lifestyle changes.
  
• Negative thinking habits. Is the glass half full or half empty? Habitual, negative thinking styles can wear down resilience and constructive responses to adversity. How we explain things to ourselves is often an important factor determining our vulnerabilty to depression.
• Genetics and brain chemestry. There is evidence of a genetic component to depression and a linkage to hormonal or neurochemical imbalance. However, it is uncertain if the imbalance is the cause FOR or is caused BY depression.

While it is possible that all three of these factors contribute to a clinical depression, each person is different. It's hard to know what the causes are without taking a holistic view of the person who is experienceing symptoms of depression.

How does therapy help?

When you participate in therapy, you are no longer alone with your depression. This fact alone brings a huge amount of relief to many people at the very beginning of our journey together. Here some of the ways our work together will help you feel better and find yourself again.

• We will explore and bring healing to unresolved events from the past that may be contributing to the way you feel.
• We will learn about the specific beliefs and ideas you've identified with that no longer serve you. Our work together will create the safety and resourcefulness for you to let these ways of being go in order to make room for new ways that support and affirm you and the life you want to live.
• We will restore your resilience and ability to respond constructively to the difficulties that can arise in the course of living your life.
• Many people are helped by medication. This is a personal decision and one that we will explore together if it seems relevant to your situation. I don't prescribe medication. If medication seems like a direction we should take I will provide appropriate referrals.

My aim is your discovery of the resources within you to heal, grow, create, engage and interact.

The bottom line

If you are experiencing depression or depressive-like sypmtoms, I urge you to reach out for help. It's not time to be alone. Let's talk and see if I can help.