Depression Treatment

Has the Burden of Pain and Regret Become Too Difficult to Carry?

• Are thoughts and regrets about the past weighing you down?
• Do you persistently feel lethargic, down, tearful and unmotivated?
• Have you begun to feel as though life is not worth living?
• Do you sometimes feel irritable, defensive and quick to anger?
• Have you felt or wondered why everything is going wrong for you or if the world is out to get you?
• Do you no longer find pleasure or excitement in things that once brought you joy?
• Do you wish you could feel excited, energized and more satisfied with your life?

Depression is heavy. It can make you struggle to get out of bed in the morning, feel weighed down by dread and zap the zeal you need to go out into the day. It can also cause you to wake up hours before your alarm, unable to fall back asleep or get up and face your seemingly impossible tasks and responsibilities. You might feel exhausted throughout the day until you can go home at night and try to numb yourself with alcohol, drugs, food, television or some other habit. Maybe you worry that you are caught in a never-ending cycle of exhaustion and oppressive negative thoughts.

If you live and work in Silicon Valley, you might feel burned out. Perhaps you have put so much time and energy into your work that you feel like you don’t have any of yourself left to give. You may feel as though the passion and drive that once excited and sustained you has drained away. Now, you are just going through the motions as the smallest tasks become more and more difficult to complete. Maybe you’re also struggling to connect with family members or friends and find it challenging to enjoy good moments when they occur. Or, maybe you feel as though your life simply lacks any good moments. At times, it might feel like the whole world is out to get you. You might hold a great deal of resentment about the past. If you are struggling with severe depression, you might have started to wonder if the world would be a better place without you in it.

Many Adults Struggle With the Dread and Heaviness of Depression

Whether you suspect that you may be experiencing mild depression or you feel as though you are in crisis, you are not alone. Depression is one of the most common ailments that Americans struggle with. In our culture, we often spend too much time comparing our lives and achievements to those of others. Scrolling through Facebook, you might see so many pictures of smiling faces or so many posts about impressive accomplishments that you wonder why you are falling behind. On top of this, the media glorifies fabulous people with fabulous careers all the time. However, Facebook and the media don’t often show us what happens behind closed doors.

Everyone has moments of feeling low and jealous of other peoples’ lives. However, these feelings can grow to a point where they begin to negatively impact your self-worth, your relationships and your work. In the high-pressure, fast-paced, career-focused world of Silicon Valley, depression is especially common. Untreated stress and anxiety can build up until they become too heavy to handle and your burdens become too much for you to carry on your own. Thankfully, there is support and ways feel happy and excited about life again.

Depression Treatment Can Help You Reactivate and Reengage

While depression is one of the most common issues that people face, it is also one of the most treatable. If you are struggling with depression, you may feel down on yourself and ashamed of your thoughts. You might not feel comfortable talking to your friends and family members about the pain you are experiencing, especially because so many people just tell you to cheer up or shake it off. Therapy can be a place for you to go to feel heard and understood. No matter how dark things may seem right now, I can guide you through the roots and tunnels of where your down thoughts and feelings are coming from and help you find a way out.

In depression treatment sessions, we will create a safe space for you to piece apart the structure of depression so that you can begin to better understand the dynamics and sources of your current feelings and experiences. I am a highly interactive and dynamic therapist. I will work to meet you where you are emotionally as we form a partnership, and we’ll work at a pace that feels comfortable for you.

I work with an eclectic set of depression treatment modalities. Together, we’ll collaborate to tailor-create a plan to reactivate your life. One possible, effective approach is learning and implementing mindfulness, which helps you develop the ability to enjoy the present moment rather than ruminating on the past. I can also work with you psycho-dynamically so that you can focus on events of the past and how they affect the here and now. Once you have addressed the past, you can shift your perspective so that you gain the ability to see the positives more clearly and also gain greater awareness of your thoughts and moods. We can also spend time discussing existential questions, your values and morals and your view of the meaning of life.

No matter how severe your depression symptoms or how they are manifesting, therapy can help you remember that you have not always felt this way. There have been moments of positivity and joy in your life, though dread and sadness can make them difficult to see. As you begin to shift your perspective, you can rediscover happiness, excitement and fulfillment in your life again.

Although you may believe that depression treatment can help you find relief, you may still have questions or concerns…

I’m not depressed. My life really is going wrong.

You may believe that the way you are thinking and feeling is clearly justified by the realities of your life. However, depression can color the way you see the world, darkening your perspective so that the negatives are magnified and the positives are obscured. This perspective can then become a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, and your way of responded to down thoughts and feelings make be adding exponential to those negative experiences. During depression treatment, I can help you see those depression glasses and begin to escape the negative feedback loop that they can cause.

I think I just need to quit my job or end my relationship. Then I will be fine. 

Silicon Valley can be an incredibly stressful place to live and work, especially if you are in the tech field. If you are feeling burned out, you may believe that leaving tech will the solution to all of your problems. Similarly, if you are struggling in your relationship or another big aspect of your life, you may believe that a major change can bring you happiness and relief. While this may be the case, I encourage you to take time to focus inward on your moods and thoughts before you make a life-changing decision. Sometimes these external factors do play into depression, but other times, you may need to address your internal world to get to the root of your pain. Underlying worries and regrets may continue to follow you if you do not meet them head-on.

Depression treatment won’t work. How can someone else help me out of this? 

Feeling as thought your situation is hopeless is actually a symptom of depression. You may feel so down and ashamed that you aren’t sure if you can even pick up the phone. But, with the support of an experienced therapist, you can come to see that your feelings are normal, and that you may just need a safe space to express and explore those feelings. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Oftentimes, people struggling with depression are sitting so deep in the well that the need the experience and guidance of someone who understands the terrain and can help them back up.

For more information on how I can help you, to schedule a no-charge 20 minute phone consultation, or to make an appointment, please call or text 408-213-8148 or email at DrGinger@GingerMartirePhD.com.