Depression Counselling - Do You Need it?

Defining Depression at Inner eastern Psychology

At its core, depression is defined as a mood disorder and one that influences the way individuals process information, as well as the way that one relates to self and others. Much of the time, feelings of intense sadness, self-loathing, low confidence and shame are characteristic to the condition, and are often felt for at least 2 weeks or longer.

The extent of these feelings exist on a broad spectrum, and can make the thought of pursuing professional help daunting. Understanding and identifying the severity of these symptoms, though, is a great starting point for those curious as to whether they are experiencing general feelings of sadness, or if there is possibility of depression and need for psychological therapy / depression counselling.

Key Symptoms of Depression and their Warning Signs

1. Your Associated Feelings with Depression are All-Encompassing

   There is a consistency to depression that can often extend beyond localised events - that said, there is also a clear connection between traumatic events and depressive disorders, and should absolutely be acknowledged where counselling for trauma is needed.

   
   For those outside of this consideration though, depression that requires clinical treatment often involves sentiments about life in general. Feelings of sadness might accompany setbacks and events in life that feel disappointing. Oftentimes, though, these are emotions that resolve in time, and won’t persist abnormally long - to the degree that they are debilitating to your everyday life. This sense of all-encompassing emotion is one of the most common signs you should reach out to a psychologist for depression.

2. Heavy Sense of Fatigue

   In a hypothetical week of bad work at your workplace, it’s not uncommon to feel unenthusiastic as a response. Feeling withdrawn, or having a lack of energy can sometimes be physical expressions of these moments - but for those in need of depression counselling, these sentiments are often much more complicated, and much more intense.

   Depressive fatigue

   Physical:

   • Severe tiredness

   • Decreased physical endurance

   • Insatiable sleepiness, accompanied by non-restorative sleep

   • Sluggishness

   • An increased need for effort to complete physical tasks

   Cognitive:

   • Decreased ability to concentrate

   • Decreased attention 

   • Decreased mental endurance,

   • Lack of motivation or apathy

   • Feeling deeply overwhelmed 

3. Loss of Interest in Hobbies and Activities

   An acute loss of interest in activities that may have once brought pleasure is one of the key indicators of major depressive disorder. 

   Clinically referred to as anhedonia, the symptom has its grounds in the lack of motivation to pursue things with effort and interest, which subsequently has the potential to collaterally affect: hobbies that may have brought pleasure in the past; relationships with those around you; your ability to interact socially; your everyday activities more generally.

4. Suicidal Thoughts and Ideation

   Thoughts of suicide may be one of the most salient symptoms of individuals in need of depression treatment and counseling. However, it should be noted that it is not exclusive to depression itself.

   In this case, ideation might function as a thought-process deriving from the depressive condition, and usually, should not derive from non-depressive sadness.

Although the above are indicators that it is helpful for someone to seek counselling for depression, it’s also important to acknowledge that the list isn’t exhaustive of the condition’s breadth of symptoms and severity.

Satisfying a variety of these conditions, however, makes a compelling cause to seek a registered psychologist for depression, or to reach out to us at Inner Eastern Psychology for support to suit your needs.