What does depression feel like?

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Depression is an intense form of sadness that makes us tired, unmotivated, and possibly even hopeless about the future. Depression may come along with physical symptoms like fatigue, muscle aches, or increased/decreased appetite. You may have thoughts about not being good enough or about suicide.

 

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Why does depression come in waves?

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Depressive "episodes" are periods of two weeks or more when we feel extremely sad, but we also have no interest in our usual activities, extremely low energy, and feelings of guilt or worthlessness. Most of us use the word depression to represent moments of intense sadness, rather than a literal diagnosis, but we may have periods of high and low mood depending on what's going on in our lives, our hormonal, chemical, and nutritional fluctuations, or our environment. 

 

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How does therapy help depression?

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Therapy can help you identify the symptoms of your depression that are most distressing to you and build up your confidence by creating a realistic plan to improve your mood. Therapy may also look at your relationship with depression if you have a tendency to wish it away, and work towards changing your attitude from hating your depression to accepting your depression.