When Can Therapy Help- Find Support and Help for Depression and Anxiety
The support of a therapeutic relationship can be highly beneficial to navigate life’s more difficult challenges and transitions. However, the help available is often clouded in mystery and stigma. This article will give you a clear idea how to recognise when therapy can be of help.
Are you Depressed or Anxious?
This may seem seem a silly question but its worth considering first.
Depression and anxiety have never been so common. There are many reasons, primarily our more and more disconnected and stressful lifestyle in the West which feeds insecurity and social isolation. Some of the telltale signs of depression are:
- low mood
- feeling sad or tearful
- sleeping too much or too little
- low energy levels, feeling tired
- inability to enjoy life
- difficulty concentrating
- thoughts of self harm
- feeling worthless or hopeless
If these symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks, your are likely to be depressed.
Anxiety presents in a different way:
- Feeling anxious or worried about a variety of things
- Finding it hard to control the anxiety
- Feeling tired
- Irritability
- Feeling restless and edgy
- Insomnia
- Poor concentration
- Social isolation
If this describes you over the past 6 months, you may be experiencing an anxiety disorder.
Sometimes these conditions can become so chronic (longterm) and familiar you may feel they are a part of your personality….Believe me, they are not! Imagine your life without that gnawing anxiety in the pit of your stomach, or the flat, lifelessness of depression.
Imagine choosing how to live, and having a sense of agency and power in your own life!
Depression and Anxiety are Signposts
If the list of symptoms above describes your present state, it is an indication that life is not going well. You can find support and help for depression and anxiety, and both of these conditions are very treatable. I would urge you to seek help and not continue to live with the mental anguish caused by theses conditions.
That’s where therapy comes in. Support for change can take many forms, exercise, walks in nature, retreats, friends and family….And a deeply supportive, therapeutic relationship adds a different dimension to the level of holding, containment and potential for change. Medication is also a useful tool, and the two modalities, talk therapy and medication together are the quickest and surest route to recovery.
My main message here is that change is possible with enough containment, holding and support
Sometimes life throws us a curve ball. Major life transitions and challenges need support in order to successfully navigate them, to process the learnings and sail forward healthy and well, using them as opportunities for growth rather than crises for falling apart. I tend to meet my clients when relationships have broken down, jobs have been lost or life has become dull and lifeless, or overwhelming and filled with anxiety. Our challenge as human beings is to make use of these challenges, turning them into a rich compost for growth, development and transformation. To stay open to life. It is when this process goes awry and we choose to shut down our hearts and spirit, that real suffering, a self inflicted suffering, ensues. Shutting ourselves off from the world and from the life giving flow of energy is the real suffering. I remember a psychiatrist telling me is discussion about a mutual patient some years ago, “ Yes, he is suffering from middle-aged, divorced man syndrome”. Prognosis poor. This man was so stuck in bitterness about his wife’s betrayal that he simply would not move forward or change his suffering.
It is a great delight to me to watch as there is a return of strength, self belief and commitment to growth and transformation.
And this often happens so quickly!
Gestalt Therapy, while supportive, is also designed to challenge any fixed, unhelpful beliefs about yourself and the world. It is not simply “making nice”, but will help you shine a light on the stuck patterns and behaviours which were once creative adaptations to a less than ideal situation, and have now become outdated operating systems.
Time for an upgrade!
Having engaged in my own therapeutic work and seen the amazing gifts it has given me to live more boldly, to feel into my own strengths, to cease undermining myself and produce results, I know first hand the effect that this level of support can bring. I also know that it is not weak or vulnerable to seek support, but a sign of a real desire for growth and a better life. When you become your best self you will have so much more to offer everyone around you!
Get Help with Depression and Anxiety
If you would like to work with me, check the website for individual sessions and group retreats. I am delighted to be taking small groups of 6 women to Stanthorpe every few months for an intimate, boutique transformational experience, deeply immersed in nature.
I also invite you to join me in Bali in May and October each year for a deeper dive into transformation using yoga and bodywork to support the process of Opening to Life.
It is a magical process returning to your own deep knowing and strength!
I love watching my clients blossom as they drop the stories they have been telling themselves, replacing old patterns with new, more vibrant ways of living.