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You can overcome your battle with depression and enjoy life again
Have you felt unmotivated lately?
Is it hard for you to do everyday tasks that are typically routine?
Do you feel like you lost motivation to go after your personal and professional goals?
Do these feelings of sadness stop you from living your most authentic life?
Depression can make something as simple as getting out of the bed in the morning feel like an incredibly difficult task. You wake up and lay there trying to find the energy or even a reason you should. As you think about what your day entails, you realize that going to work seems like a chore that you just don’t feel like doing, and brushing your teeth seems like it’ll take an extreme amount of energy that you just don’t have. Sometimes you just want to say “f- it” roll over and pull the covers over your head and try again tomorrow.
Or maybe you’ve been questioning your self worth lately. No matter how many times your family and friends tell you they love and care about you and all the good things they see in you, it feels IMPOSSIBLE for you to see it yourself. You can’t seem to find the positive qualities about yourself, but you do see all of your “flaws.” Even worse, the idea of exploring why you’re feeling the way you do is terrifying – so rather than being honest with yourself, you’ve decided that it’s better not to feel anything at all.
Depression can feel crippling because despite being aware that you are not yourself and haven’t quite been yourself for a while, it can drain you of the energy or motivation to do something about it. When suffering from depression it can feel like no one understands what you’re going through.
As lonely and isolating as you may feel, you are not alone. Depression affects over a million American adults. For many women of color, depression may feel like a thing we aren’t even allowed to feel. Enter that “strong black woman syndrome” Sometimes we don’t even attribute what we are feeling to depression for fear of breaking down that persona or out of fear of others seeing it as a sign of weakness.
But this is SO FAR from true! You are NOT expected to hold everything, do everything, and be everything, while ignoring your own needs. And you are NOT alone. Statistics show that Black Americans are more likely to grapple with feelings of sadness, worthlessness and despair and one of the most common Black mental health concerns is depression.
What makes depression confusing or unmanageable for some is that you don’t always know what causes it or when it will occur. For some, depression can occur after experiencing something traumatic, or after major life changes, such as the loss of a loved one, or a big move. For others, a change in climate can bring about depression. And of course there are people who feel “it came out of nowhere.”When you are experiencing depression, happiness isn’t always a choice. The good news is, with proper help and treatment you can learn skills and strategies to help you overcome your depression.
Occasionally feeling down is a normal part of life, it’s a feeling we can’t avoid. We’ll all experience things that upset us or make us feel sad. What makes depression different is the consistent and ongoing feelings of sadness and hopelessness. It lasts for long periods of time, and you can’t seem to overcome it. And just to also dispel this ridiculous myth about depression that is circulating in society: No..depression is not something you can just “get over.” Despite what you might see online or hear from people in your circle, you can’t just shake it off and choose happiness. It’s real and it’s debilitating and it often requires additional assistance to work and process through it. When suffering from depression, you may also experience a loss of interest and motivation in doing activities that you once loved. Your energy may feel unusually low and doing small tasks like washing dishes, playing with your babies, or taking a shower can seem daunting. Other physical symptoms include having difficulty sleeping, experiencing aches and pains, and fluctuating weight changes. When depressed you may start to disengage with your loved ones in an attempt to avoid feeling like a burden. But this isolation and distancing can leave you feeling even more alone.
When you are experiencing depression, happiness isn’t always a choice. The good news is, with proper help and treatment you can learn skills and strategies to help you overcome your depression.
There’s no need to feel guilt or shame about being depressed. At Renewed Focus, we got you sis! We have worked with a multitude of clients through depression counseling. In our sessions we’ll meet you where you are in your journey. We’ll explore the reasons you believe you have depression, how it has impacted your life, and what you hope to achieve with therapy.
Our approach is customized to each client, with the intent to help you:
-Build a tool kit filled with strategies and skills to help you manage your depression
-Manage your emotions and stress without isolating yourself
-Find your “tribe” and build a strong support system that validates you, challenges you in healthy ways, and allows you to lean on them when needed.
– Identify what your triggers might be so you can avoid them or learn what you should do if you’ve encountered them
Depression is the constant feeling of sadness, hopelessness, and loneliness. These feelings usually last more than 2 weeks and are accompanied by other symptoms such as a loss of motivation, and changes in sleep, appetite, and concentration. If you’re concerned that you’re suffering from depression, we can explore it further in depression counseling.
In depression counseling, we will help you uncover what triggered your depression and work with you to navigate those feelings, while also providing you with strategies and coping mechanisms to help you overcome your depression. Depression therapy isn’t always easy, and you may have to discuss some things that are painful. However, we absolutely have your back and have no intention of having you navigate this pain alone. We are partners on this journey. And in the end you will feel like you can heal, which can help you manage your depression.
We can’t guarantee when you will heal, but we can promise we’ll be by your side on this journey until you do. At Renewed Focus we work with you as long we need to, to create a strategic plan and find solutions that can help you take back control of your life. And this process is collaborative. We’re a team and you’re essentially the leader! We want to hear how you are feeling and how you think the therapy is going so we can adjust and tailor to you needs.
Are you ready to take the next step and want to reach out for depression counseling? If you think Renewed Focus is a good fit, please reach out to us and schedule your free consultation today. We look forward to hearing from you and beginning your journey to a healthier, more authentic, badass self together.
