Getting Therapy for Your Depression
Can I get Treatment for my Depression?
Is there an actual treatment for depression? The short answer is yes. Depression is readily treated with short-term, goal-oriented individual counseling therapy. Some people in Hawaii may choose to take psychotropic medication or a combination of both medication and individual counseling. Individual counseling therapy techniques proven to work with depression include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy, and psychodynamic therapy. Individual counseling therapy at our Pearl City / Office is one of the most effective treatments for all types of depression and has very few side effects and is a covered treatment by all insurers.
No matter how hopeless things may feel today, people can get better with treatment and most do. The key to successful treatment is usually dependent upon the person recognizing there’s a problem, seeking out treatment for it, and then following the treatment plan agreed to. This can be far more challenging for someone who’s depressed than it sounds, and patience is a core necessity when starting treatment.
What Is Depression?
People use many names for depression such as “the blues,” biological or clinical depression, and a major depressive episode. But all of these names refer to the same thing: feeling sad and depressed for weeks or months on end — not just a passing blue mood of a day or two. This feeling is most often accompanied by a sense of hopelessness, a lack of energy (or feeling “weighed down”), and taking little or no pleasure in things that once gave a person joy in the past.
How can I tell if I have Depression?
Depression takes many forms and no two people’s experiences are exactly alike. A person who’s suffering from this disorder may not seem sad to others. They may instead complain about how they just “can’t get moving,” or are feeling completely unmotivated to do just about anything. Even simple things like getting dressed in the morning or eating at mealtime become large obstacles in daily life. People around them, such as their friends and family, notice the change too. Often they want to help, but just don’t know how.
The symptoms of depression include the majority of the following signs, experienced nearly every day over the course of two or more weeks:
- a persistent feeling of loneliness or sadness
- lack of energy
- feelings of hopelessness
- difficulties with sleeping (too much or too little)
- difficulties with eating (too much or too little)
- difficulties with concentration or attention
- total loss of interest in enjoyable activities or socializing
- feelings of guilt and worthlessness
- and/or thoughts of death or suicide.
Most people who are feeling depressed don’t experience every symptom, and the presentation of symptoms varies in degree and intensity from person to person.
Be sure to contact us at our Pearl City / Aiea Hawaii office. Our staff is trained to help you in your time of need.
