Therapy for Depression

You can tell if you're depressed versus just going through a rough patch by looking at how long these feelings have lasted and how much they're affecting your daily life. A rough patch usually gets better after a few days or weeks, but if you're depressed, that heavy, empty feeling sticks around for weeks or months. When you're depressed, simple things like getting out of bed, eating, or enjoying stuff you used to love becomes really hard. If you've been feeling this way for more than two weeks and it's messing with school, friends, or family, that's usually a sign you might be dealing with depression.

The difference between being sad and having depression is that sadness comes and goes with specific situations, but depression feels like being stuck in a heavy fog that won't lift. When you're sad, you can usually still do your normal activities and feel better after crying or talking to someone. But having depression means that empty, hopeless feeling takes over everything - you might not even be able to cry, or nothing seems to help. Depression also affects your body with things like feeling exhausted all the time, changes in appetite, or physical aches that don't have a clear cause.

What you should expect in your first depression therapy session is a safe space to talk about what's been going on without judgment. Your first session is about me getting to know you and understanding how depression has been affecting your life. We'll talk about when you started feeling this way, what your days look like now, and what you're hoping will change. You don't need to worry about what to expect in your first depression therapy session, we'll go at your pace, and you won't have to share anything you're not ready to talk about.

Yes, depression therapy can absolutely help if you feel numb instead of sad. Many people think depression always means crying or feeling super sad, but feeling numb is actually really common with depression. When you feel numb from depression, it's like your emotions have gone offline to protect you from overwhelming pain. In depression therapy, we'll gently help you reconnect with your feelings at a pace that feels safe, so that numbness doesn't have to be permanent.

Yes, it's totally normal for depression to make you not want to see friends or family , isolation is one of the most common signs of depression. When depression makes you not want to see people, it's usually because socializing feels exhausting, you worry you'll bring others down, or you feel like you have to pretend to be okay. In depression therapy, we'll work on understanding why isolation feels safer right now and help you gradually reconnect with people who matter to you.

EMDR for depression is designed to make difficult feelings more manageable, not worse, though I understand why you'd worry about that. When people ask "does EMDR for depression feel overwhelming," I tell them that we go super slow and you stay in control the whole time. If anything feels too intense during EMDR for depression, we can pause, slow down, or stop completely. Most people describe EMDR as feeling like they're watching their memories from a distance rather than being stuck in them, which actually helps the sadness feel less heavy.

Look for therapists who work with women and understand the extra pressures women deal with. It's also helpful to find someone who gets your background and culture. Therapists like Zahra Lakhdhir and Suki O'Huallachain create a safe space where you can be yourself without being judged.