Depression is not just transient sadness. It is a feeling of internal emptiness, loss of will, and loss of meaning,as if you are cut off from yourself and from life.
You may "function" externally, but internally, you feel as if you are shutting down.
In Gestalt psychotherapy, depression is not viewed as weakness, but as the organism's attempt to protect itself from emotional overload.
It is often rooted in unexpressed grief,suppressed anger, or a feeling of hopelessness. Instead of being overwhelmed by pain, your system withdraws and shuts down.
Depression may appear when you:
endure something exhausting for a long time,
give up your own desires to fulfil the expectations of others,
no longer believe that change is possible.
In psychotherapy, we gradually uncover:
What have you forgotten that is important to you?
Which part of yourself have you put aside in order to "cope"?
The Gestalt approach does not seek solutions externally. It invites you to return inward and look at what within you is seeking attention, grieving, or hoping that you will see it again.
Psychotherapy helps you revive contact with yourself, step by step.
Sometimes the first sign of change is not happiness, but the ability to feel sadness without fear. That is where strength lies.
If you feel lost, it doesn't have to be the end.
Psychotherapy can be the place where you start to feel again – and to choose.
Love your day. Start where you are.