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When you or someone you love is sad…

sad dog

Sadness is a normal part of life. But what do you do when you or someone you love is really sad? All emotions serve an important purpose. But sometimes, sadness can become overwhelming, stifling and life consuming. What used to give pleasure, doesn’t. How you used to eat and/or sleep is different. Sometimes the hopeless feeling can be overwhelming. Many call that depression.

When this happens, you Need Help.

Asking for help is hard and can feel like a sign of weakness.  But it’s actually courageous to do something even though you’re scared (see Webster).  And asking for help when you’re sad, IS scary.   What I want you to know, is that you don’t have to be alone.  There are ways, proven ways, to combat depression. Therapy can be a very important part.

Here’s a powerful, short and accurate video describing depression. It also offers effective ways to treat it. It’s called “I had a black dog, his name was depression”, Here’s the Link.

Depression is hard not only on the people who are feeling it but also for those that love them. And if one of these people are you, you probably feel pretty bad. Most clients enter my office with symptoms of depression, anxiety or both. And if that’s you, or someone you love it’s important to intervene.

There are Proven Ways to Combat Depression.

If you’re looking for professional help, feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email.  When I’m accepting new clients I offer free 15 minute phone consultations. Sometimes having this available, can be really helpful.

Help for DepressionOne very effective way to treat depression is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT.  CBT is one of the most researched treatments for depression out there. What makes CBT work so well is that it teaches us how our thoughts, feelings and behaviors all effect each other. And how you can use that to change the sadness that you feel.

In children who have depression symptoms, there’s often a life event that created a significant stressor.  Something that happened before all the sad feelings became strong. In this case, we in the business refer to it as “trauma”.  Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, TF-CBT can be really effective in helping a child, maybe your child, to work through the stressor.  And even more importantly, TF-CBT helps the child confide and connect with their parents. In a way that is so, so beautiful.  I am touched when I’m part of this process. As a clinician with advanced training  in this, I’ve worked with many children and families. Click Here for a list of all clinicians rostered in Missouri to provide this service. For more info on TF-CBT and how treatment helps kids Click Here.

An effective way to reduce depression in adults with a willing partner, is Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy or EFT. EFT is the most evidence based treatment out there for couples.  When couples experience the loving responsiveness of their partner, it’s pretty incredible. That’s what EFT helps couples do. And it also teaches couples how to manage hard feelings —  with their partner, well that just changes EVERYTHING!

If you or someone you love is struggling with sadness, I hope you don’t settle for the status quo. There is help out there.  Good help!

Good, Effective Help for Depression is Available.

If you’d like more relationship insights, research and humor, follow me on Facebook.    And if you found this helpful, feel free to share it.

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