Feeling sad, unmotivated, hopeless, or experiencing low mood are all a very real and natural part of being human. Life can be difficult – we experience grief, anger, upset, sadness and so on as a response to normal events that can occur in our lives. In fact, weathering these storms allows us to increase our resilience so that as we go through life we develop even greater resources and abilities to cope with the ups and downs that we inevitably experience.
Depression, however, is more than just feeling unhappy, bored or fed up. It is a common psychological disorder that can affect anyone. If the feelings don’t go away quickly, or start to affect your everyday life, it may be time to seek help. For any mental health problem, it is really important the you visit your GP to discuss the problems and how they are affecting you.
Hypnotherapy can be really effective for mild to moderate depression. The aim is to target the root cause or causes of the issue, and help you to develop better coping strategies and behaviours. When feeling depressed it is very common to suppress the cause of your depression as a coping mechanism, as a way of avoiding dealing with the negative feelings which can feel very difficult. This is why it is important to deal with the underlying issue, rather than burying it which can worsen the depression. Hypnotherapy helps you to connect directly with the subconscious mind, enabling you to address your perception of the event while also building up your emotional resources, with the aim of improving your mood and self-esteem. This can help you to move forward in your life, with new, more positive ways of responding to events that happen.
Coaching can be really useful in helping you regain momentum, get back into the groove of your life and move forwards. It is an effective way of calling up your motivation, getting back on track and regaining feeling of purpose, structure and enjoyment in life. It may be that you already know how effective exercise is, for example, yet you might find it really difficult to actually take part in any physical exercise; it can be so difficult to get started. Engaging in coaching sessions allows you to be held accountable, keep up the momentum even when you want to give up.
Coaching sessions provide regular contact with a friendly, supportive person outside your immediate circle; I can help you to feel supported while helping to keep you grounded and focussed on the important things in your life such as work, studies, family, partners and friends. Whenever you achieve anything, no matter how big or small, I am there to offer the praise and encouragement you need, reminding you of how important all these small – or large – steps are towards the progress you want to make.
Ultimately, the aim of coaching is to enable you to develop all these skills for yourself, so that you have all the resources you need to cope once more, and gain your independence back. It is about moving forwards, leaving negative behaviours and thoughts behind, and approaching the future with renewed vigour and joy.
Postnatal Depression
Postnatal depression is quite common, and can range from mild ‘baby blues’ to much more severe episodes. The symptoms are very similar to those of other depressive issues, and may include crying for no apparent reason, or feelings of rejection from your partner, family or friends, or even your baby. This can be such a vulnerable and difficult time; I have a lot of experience with birth and the transition to motherhood so can provide a calm, sympathetic approach to help you through.