Psychotherapy can help a person with depression to gain perspective and regain hope. It can overcome the feelings of hopelessness that accompany both anxiety and depression. Those feelings of hopelessness are accentuated in Nexus with Logan Andrews, who is unable to cope with demands of work and life. Since the book is dealing with a serious topic, it is not light reading. Yet, when the book is read as a whole it is highly rewarding and insightful. Nexus is an experiential journey, so that through the challenges of the main character and other people in the book, we gain wisdom.
With anxiety and depression being an important challenge for Logan, we are sharing information that will help individuals struggling with it in their own lives. I also had a period of depression in my own life and found helpful strategies to regain hope. In my practice as a hypnotherapist, I was able to share these insights in helping clients and often worked in conjunction with Deborah Morrison, who is a trained psychotherapist.
An attitude of self-help is necessary to regain hope along with openness to seek professional help. So how can psychotherapy help with depression?
Supportive counselling can uncover and address underlying feelings of hopelessness that reinforce depression. A caring psychotherapist can also uncover mental distortions that create pessimistic thoughts, unrealistic expectations and critical self-evaluations. Cognitive therapy is type of psychotherapy, which replaces distorted thinking of someone suffering from depression or anxiety disorders with more accurate perceptions.
Cognitive therapy can allow you to understand your self-evaluation and in depression this self-evaluation tends to be highly critical of the self due to unrealistic expectations. When something goes wrong, a depressed person will blame themselves with an inner dialogue along these lines: “I messed up. I can’t do anything right.” The lack of success becomes magnified, instead of the recognition that this is an isolated incidence and that the self can remain intact outside of it.
In depression a person will often see the world through dark-tinted glasses, which creates pessimistic, negative views. Unless these views are uncovered and changed, an individual can remain stuck. The outside perspective of a caring psychotherapist can help in regaining optimism and hope.
Self-talk is part of our thinking but when it becomes negative, it can immobilize us because the fear of failure keeps us from acting on possible solutions. Here is an example of negative self-talk: “Why should I even try? I’m just going to fail anyway.” Or, “I can’t do this. I’m just not motivated.” A psychotherapist can assist in changing this negative inner dialogue and in turn restore self-confidence and a willingness to try.
Cognitive distortions can cloud perceptions, judgments and assumptions of a depressed individual. They include distorted ideas and false assumptions, which need to be checked in order to restore mental health. Overgeneralization is one of the common cognitive distortions that a person can experience during anxiety or depression. A caring psychotherapist can help a person to take inventory of these distortions and then teach us how to change the way we perceive situations in life.
Depression can interfere with our ability to function effectively throughout the day. It affects the mind, body and the spirit. So an multi-faceted approach works best to overcome debilitating aspects of depression. Hope creates dreams, motivations and optimism in our life and prolonged depression can robs us of hope. Through actively seeking help, we in time overcome depression and regain hope.
Arvind you are a manifestation of an inner dialogue I had with myself the other day. My depression disorder is the result of several head injuries. When you appeared in my space I saw an old soul one that I’ve known through many life times.
My manifestation request was simply, please give me guidance and support from people of like mindedness who will not criticize me but rather lift me up to great heights so that I can become more rather than less.
In ancient times when people where depressed they were sent out to pasture, literally or so my therapist told me when I shared with him my love of horses.
It is my perception that the intent was for a depressed or mentally disarranged individual to go play, touch, ride, and just be with the horses because their great strength and kind ways dimenishes all impure thoughts. In essence, their very presence obfuscates negative inner dialogue and the light of requited love shines so brightly one cannot help but bask within it. Their eyes say, “I love you, I am sorry.”
When I am weak they are strong and they lift me up and allow me to fly like the Raven that I am.
Many Mahalos and Much Aloha,
Carmie Raven
I am so glad to hear that I was of help to you and thank you for your appeciation of our writing. It is mysterious but when we really need someone the right person comes into our life even when it’s across cyberspace.
From my own car accident, I personally know the challenges associated with recovery. You need to be gentle on yourself and I’m so glad to know that you have never given up hope.
The horses are the right therapy for you, since they uplift you and give you strength. If I can be of help to you in anyway, do not hesistate to message me. I look forward to learn more about you and your life in Hawaii.
Aloha,
Arvind
I saw a profile of a lady, a duck and a lady in a bonnet. Does that mean I’m left or right brained?
When I was working with troubled youth a few years ago, I was given the priviledge of attending a two day workshop on suicide prevention. The main thing I learned was to get said person talking and being a good listener—–reading between the lines, so to speak, as to what the person was Really saying.
The Anatomy of Depression
i would like a consillor