Depression

Depression affects so many people every year and is perhaps the most common psychological disorder today. In fact, The World Health Organisation estimates that by the year 2020, depression will be the second leading disability causing disease in the world.

 For some people depression can be a very short episode which occurs only once in their lifetime. However, for many people it can be chronic and have a huge impact on their lives. 

Depression is often a significant factor in the break-up of relationships, career problems and lack of motivation.

Hypnotherapy for depression is most effective when it is future orientated, or solution focused which means that we help you find a way forward out of the depressed feelings rather than looking back at the problems which may have led to the depression.

 Depression can come on suddenly due to a physical illness, becoming unemployed, experiencing bereavement, money worries, issues from your childhood, work issues or other life changing events.  Sometimes you may not even know the trigger for your depression, try not to worry if you cannot put your finger on the causes as sometimes there are not any, and it can just happen. 

When depression occurs, the individual will turn in on themselves and refuse to engage with others, pushing away friends and loved ones and have a general feeling of despair or inability to see how their situation can change for the better. Often it starts so gradually the individual does not realise anything is wrong, but they will start to withdraw more and more from living. Severity can range from prolonged feelings of being ‘low’ or not being able to ‘cheer up’ to being almost totally dysfunctional and having some of the symptoms associated with the illness such as:-

• depressed mood and sometimes fearfulness
• sleep disturbance
• Constant feeling of sadness
• High levels of anxiety
• Difficulty in getting out of bed in the morning
• Mental slowing and dullness
• Shakiness
• Slowed reaction time
• Total inefficiency
• loss of energy
• weight loss or weight gain
• loss of pleasure or interest in usual activities
• difficulties in thinking, concentrating etc
• negative thinking or forecasting the future

 If you are experiencing a number of these symptoms then it is likely that you are suffering from depression.

Some of the symptoms can be treated specifically – insomnia, weight loss or gain and lack of concentration are examples. Often depression is exacerbated or even caused by substance abuse – alcohol, drugs or cigarette smoking.

Types of Depression 

 Mild Depression.

This is where you may feel low, but it does not really affect your daily living.

Severe Depression

This type of depression really does interfere with your life – it can affect your eating, sleeping, motivation to do everyday activities. It can sometimes lead to hospital admission if you are at a risk of harming yourself.

Bi-polar Disorder

If you are suffering from this type of depression, you will be experiencing really good feelings one day, where you will feel elated, make irrational decisions and can take on the world.  However, the next day could be a completely different matter and you may feel extremely low, have feelings of despair and even feel suicidal.

Post-natal Depression

If you are suffering from this type of depression it is likely that you will be feeling overwhelmed, unable to cope, may be struggling with sleeping or suffering from panic attacks. It is also quite likely that you will be experiencing negative feelings towards your child.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

SAD usually comes on at the start of Winter and can even last until spring.  If you are suffering mildly from this it is known as the ‘winter blues’.  However full-blown SAD can make you feel very depressed, anxious, stressed and can interfere with your sleeping and eating patterns.

 With appropriate hypnotherapy, depression is one of the most treatable disorders.  Help for depression with hypnotherapy has a dramatically lower rate of relapse than with anti-depressants alone and is now considered the most effective treatment, even in severe cases, enabling the client to focus on solving problems and engage fully in life again.

People with depression have often fallen into the habit of negative thinking and believing nothing can help, we understand this, it is part of the symptoms of having depression.  Coming along for a free initial consultation does not obligate you to continuing with sessions, but it will help you to understand how our approach with hypnosis is probably different from anything else you have tried and why it is such effective help for depression.

Please contact me today if you would like to find out how hypnotherapy can help you overcome this debilitating illness.