Most people will have some short periods of time of feeling down and unhappy, but when you’re depressed you feel persistently sad for longer, perhaps weeks or months, rather than just a few days.
Persistent low mood or depression can mean you feel permanently overwhelmed or flooded by constant negative thoughts. Depression can impact you psychologically, physically and socially.
Some of the psychological symptoms include, feeling hopeless and helpless, tearful, feeling guilt-ridden. You can often find yourself becoming less tolerant of others, being more irritable, lacking motivation and generally not enjoying life. You can feel constantly anxious with some people having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self harm.
Common physical symptoms of depression can include: moving or speaking more slowly than usual, a change in appetite or weight (usually decreased, but sometimes increased). People can also experience unexplained aches and pains, a lack of energy, low sex drive, changes to menstrual cycles. Many find that depression can also impact sleep, with difficulty getting to sleep or waking in the night very common.
The social symptoms of depression can include avoiding contact with friends and reducing social activities. Some people end up having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self harm. Many find that the combination of symptoms can lead to difficulties either at home or work or both.
Solution Focused Hypnotherapy can help by allowing you to understand how our brain works and how we can retrain it to concentrate on the positives in life. It can also help enormously with sleep issues. This type of therapy can work alongside any medication you may be taking for your symptoms.