.. Depression
.. Anxiety

Clinical depression is different than 'normal' feelings of sadness or disappointment, and is also different than feeling unhappy with the circumstances in your life. It has a pronounced effect on our physiological state - energy level, appetite, sleep, motivation etc. - and a similarly pronounced effect on our thoughts and feelings.

For example, in the face of a relationship break-up, 'normal' sadness might say: "I'm sad and disappointed about losing someone I cared about. I'm going to miss having someone in my life, and the prospect of going out into the dating world again is scary and daunting". 'Depression' might say: "I've been abandoned again and I just can't stand it. Now I'll probably always be alone, who would ever want to be with me? There must be something wrong with me - no one ever wants to be with me".

So although it's our emotions that cause us pain - I feel abandoned, overwhelmed, like a loser, hopeless, etc. - emotions always follow thoughts. To put it simply, we have to understand what has happened before we can have an emotional response to what has happened.

One part of counselling for depression therefore involves looking at our thoughts and beliefs, identifying any distortions in those thoughts/beliefs, and arriving at more rational and self-supporting ways of understanding and talking to ourselves about an experience.

Freeing yourself from depression does not mean living in a state of uninterrupted joy and bliss - in the example given above, sadness is an understandable and appropriate response to the break-up of a relationship - but it does mean being able to hold the grief associated with an experience in a way that allows us to heal and move on.

The physical and psychological symptoms of depression can include:

• Pervasive feelings of sadness, irritability, or tension
• Decreased interest or pleasure in usual activities or hobbies
• Decreased energy, feeling tired despite lack of activity
• Change in appetite (eating more or less)
• Change in sleeping patterns, such as difficulty sleeping, early morning awakening, or sleeping too much
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, or guilt
• Thoughts of suicide or death