Depression

As a therapist, Dr. Jenny Streit-Horn helps clients with issues of depression and also works in conjunction with doctors, psychiatrists, and other health professionals as part of an integrated treatment.

Dr. Jenny Streit-Horn is a therapist specializing in the treatment of depression, collaborating with physicians and psychiatrists to provide comprehensive, integrated care.

Understanding Depression

Much is misunderstood about depression as depression by nature does not conform to logic. Without experiencing depression first hand, it is easy for misconceptions to arise and this tends to distance those who suffer from depression further away from finding help.

Furthermore, there are a multitude of ways which depression can manifest so there may be a simple way to approach getting started by asking some questions:

• Does the way you feel bother you or cause you concern?
• Do any behaviors you exhibit or witness cause alarm or even moderate confusion?
• Does the way you feel get in the way of your performance in any setting such as work, school, social interaction, or relationships with friends or loved ones?
• Does the way you feel or react seem to not fit the circumstance you are in?
• Are you just not sure what to make of how you feel or perhaps how you don’t feel?

These are only some considerations that might lead you to seek professional assessment.

Variations of Depression Abound

The intensity or depth of depression fluctuates from person to person as well as from time to time for any individual. This often causes us to discount how serious or influential depression can be. Depression is not always quantifiable. Finding a way to measure it might help a person make a decision to seek help but often measurability is unclear or masked. Sometimes there is only a vague notion that leads to deeper investigation and the shedding of light on what by nature tries to avoid discovery.

It may help to understand how depression masks itself. When constant, depression may begin to appear to be the norm. Alternately, depression subsides, it may seem to be over, even when it still persists only to a lesser degree.

Depression can feel like a number of things.

Depression frequently goes hand in hand with anxiety. The two of these work to strengthen each other and add to our confusion and further reduce our ability to function normally or effectively.

Depression versus Sadness

Sadness can be a perfectly appropriate feeling in response to many circumstances and sadness itself doesn’t have to be fully understood to accept as normal. However, sadness may become constant and need to be looked into. Remember that sadness and depression may coexist but are not really the same thing.

Depression isn’t just feeling sad or down.

Depression can bring on thoughts or feelings that are similar to sadness but can also manifest in more distilled attributes such as:

• Lack of energy
• Persistent negative talking or thinking
• General lack of interest
• Lack of interest in pleasure or previously energizing activities
• Lack of faith in one’s self
• The feeling or belief of worthlessness or not belonging

Depression can feel like nothing at all.

This can seem like emptiness or even a void of feeling altogether. We see some people who are able to hide their feelings during situations that might require restraint but there are people who are not able to switch this off and remain bound to the notion that feelings altogether are to be tucked away. In some cases, feelings can become lost altogether and a person may find feelings returning in ways that are difficult to control or are embarrassing such as abrupt outbursts of laughter, misplaced anger, even rage.

This misalignment of control, whether too much control perhaps none at all, leads us back to the initial question, “Is this causing difficulty in managing interactions at work, school, or other social engagement?”