Now and then, we all need a little help to get through the stresses and strains that life throws our way. Time and again we face disappointments, conflicts and losses, and we may feel confused or stressed in the midst of a transition in life, even a positive one like marriage or childbirth.

Often people manage to get over such awkward times with nothing more than a friend’s support or some timeout for distancing and reflecting. At other times you may feel that the events and your own emotions, thoughts and reactions are too intricate even for you to sort out, and you may seek professional psychological help in getting things back on track again.

Yet at other times, you may feel that things get such a hold of you, that you deem yourself helpless in navigating your way out of your emotional turmoil. People tell you to ‘snap out of it’, but you are just unable to shake it away. It is at these times that you are most vulnerable to experience full blown depression, rather than just transient low mood.

The following questions might aid you to determine whether you are suffering from depression or a depressive mood:

• Have you had intense feelings of sadness?
• Have you been caught up in endless negative thoughts about yourself, the world and the future?
• Do you feel more vulnerable than usual?
• Do you tend to overly criticize yourself or put yourself down?
• Are you brooding over all those “bad” things that you have done in life?
• Do you feel weak, unable to cope? And then – do you blame yourself for your weaknesses?
• Does the world seem unsafe, dangerous or strange?
• Have you had the experience of not ‘feeling at home’ in the world?
• Are you experiencing frightening loneliness, but yet unable to reach out for your closest family and friends?
• Are you unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel?

If you have answered positively to all or some of these questions, then it would be essential for you to seek professional counselling.    

As a mental health clinician and counsellor I help my clients work through a range of conditions, from a mild depressive mood to a full blown depressive episode or disorder. Through a collaborative work, we aim to alleviate your depressed mood and negative thoughts, and to gain back your motivation and ability to enjoy your life. Overall, treatment is designed to restore your previous levels of functioning and to regain your “familiar” sense of self and well-being.

I work from a private clinic so you can feel comfortable and at ease within a personal and confidential environment.

Please look at the information provided in this website and contact me. I can help.