Mill Valley and Marin County (415) 857-5560
Mill Valley and Marin County (415) 857-5560
A Compassionate Depression Psychotherapist in Mill Valley
Depression has a way of infiltrating your life. Like a chameleon, it takes on your shape and form and settles into the contours of your existence in a way that makes it difficult to distinguish yourself from the depression or recall a time when life was any other way. Therapy can help.
Helping You Cope with Feelings of Sadness, Grief & Loss
Depression is characterized by low motivation, lack of interest or pleasure in daily activities, poor self esteem, pervasive hopelessness and feelings of loss and grief. Sometimes it can feel difficult to even get out of bed. You may find yourself overeating or unable to eat much at all. Like changes to your diet, you may experience changes in the way you sleep. You may find yourself sleeping all the time, regularly waking from nightmares or struggling to fall asleep even when you are otherwise exhausted. Trouble eating and sleeping exacerbate mood swings, creating heightened emotional reactivity, putting a strain on relationships, and making everyday encounters with the world unpredictable. You may feel low for no apparent reason. Life may feel pointless, making it even harder to do the things that you know might help. Reaching out to friends or colleagues may be difficult for several reasons. Perhaps you don’t want to be seen this way or you feel you don't have anything to offer, or worse, are convinced you are beyond repair. Everything feels futile. Unfortunately, these thoughts processes only intensify the isolation and loneliness. Anxiety often arises in response to depression, becoming a vicious cycle of paralysis. You probably blame yourself for not being “normal.” All of these symptoms are incredibly common for people living with depression to varying degrees.
Learn to Manage Mood Swings, Restore Balance & Build Self-Esteem
In individuals with cyclical mood disorders such as bipolar, this low period may last for several weeks and then, almost out of nowhere, emerges a feeling of uncontainable, manic energy that builds until it urgently needs to be released, creating racing thoughts, pressured or rapid speech, exaggerated perceptions of self, impulsive decisions and grandiosity.
I will help you understand where your depression originates, find patterns in your cycle so you can begin to anticipate times where you need more support, process repressed or latent emotions, create coping skills, rebuild your sense of self, and learn where to make change in order to restore balance to your life. Slowly, in the context of a supportive therapeutic relationship, you will begin to see yourself differently and, after some time, may begin to notice that you are different - the haze has lifted, you are finding ease in the things that once felt so hard, taking enjoyment in the little things in life, re-connecting with others - even flourishing. I am here to help you see that all of this is possible. You don’t have to suffer endlessly and you don’t have to find your way through the dark alone.
Providing Marin County Counseling Services in Sausalito, Tiburon, Fairfax and Beyond
Often what creates change in psychotherapy is a loving, supportive relationship where you can feel safe to explore those areas that you have repressed for fear of being judged or misunderstood. Allow me to hold your suffering with compassion and help you heal from your pain.
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