Helping You Overcome
Depression
Most of us have experienced a low mood or sad feelings at some point in our lives. These feelings are a normal response to loss, frustration, failure and disappointment. Sad and frustrated feelings like this normally improve as time goes by and the incident that provoked them fades into the past.
If you are depressed, then you are trapped in these feelings. You constantly worry and feel that your emotional needs are not being met.
You also feel constantly exhausted, because your brain is unable to rest fully, even while you are sleeping.
The good news is that there is relief from these feelings. I have helped many people overcome depression with my tried and trusted techniques.
You may experience feelings of anxiety, despair, irritability, guilt or grief
You may feel a sense of disconnection or numbness
You may experience a loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities, including sex
You may experience lethargy, inability to concentrate and difficulty making even simple decisions
You may begin overeating and gain weight or experience a loss of appetite or weight loss
You may experience social withdrawal
Depression is NOT Your Fault
How do we overcome depression?
Depression can leave you feeling exhausted. This is because your brain is unable to rest fully, even while you are sleeping. You dream more, which is the brain’s way of trying to deal with your emotional state, and experience less of the deep sleep you need to restore your mind.
If you are suffering from chronic depression, you are not alone – it’s estimated that between 9% to 20% of the population will suffer from a significant period of depression at some time in their lives. These episodes can have a serious impact on your life – in fact, depression can have more of a negative impact on your life than many serious diseases.
If you are suffering from depression, it’s impossible to simply ‘cheer up’ or ‘get over it’, as so many people say in an attempt to be helpful. Depression is an illness and is not something that you can control. You should seek help.
Hypnotherapy can be effective for depression, either used on its own, or as a supplement to other approaches. The deep relaxation experienced during a hypnotherapy session gives the depressed mind a valuable break starting the process of developing a new inner landscape. Together we can also explore possible root causes for your depression and help you to develop the resources you need to feel a greater sense of security and contentment in your life.
What are the different types of depression?
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Symptoms of depression are usually the same for everyone, but people with seasonal affective disorder may experience different symptoms based on the time of year.
Some will have increased appetite and weight gain during the winter months but a loss of interest in food or overeating during the summer season. Others might feel much more lethargic than usual when it’s dark outside.
The cause of seasonal affective disorder is not fully understood. One theory suggests that our circadian rhythms are out of sync with the seasons, which throws off hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain like serotonin. This could lead to an onset of depression during the winter months when it’s dark outside for longer
Dysthymia
Dysthymia is a type of mild, chronic depression. People with dysthymia tend to feel persistently sad or empty, have low self-esteem and be overly sensitive to rejection. Dysthymia may develop in reaction to stressful events like the death of a loved one or other traumatic experience but this isn’t always the case.
Dysthymia is typically less severe than major depression, but it’s also harder to identify. Some people with dysthymia may not even know that they have a mental health condition at all because their symptoms are so mild, while others might believe that the feelings of emptiness or sadness are just normal parts of life.
Prenatal depression
Prenatal depression is a type of major depressive disorder that affects more than ten per cent of pregnant women. Pregnancy triggers hormonal changes in the mother’s body, which can lead to mood swings and feelings like anxiety or sadness.
What causes prenatal depression? Research suggests it may be linked with hormone levels during pregnancy – specifically estrogen and cortisol.
It’s important to tell your health care provider if you are feeling this way during pregnancy so treatment can be started early on in order for you both to get back on track as soon as possible!
Postnatal depression (PND)
Postnatal depression occurs after the birth of a child. It is estimated that about 15% of women who have just given birth experience postnatal depression. It’s important to note that PND is not the baby blues. The baby blues typically only lasts around two weeks.
Postpartum depression symptoms are similar to those for major depressive disorder, and include severe mood swings, extreme sadness or irritability, inability to enjoy activities that were once pleasurable, changes in eating habits resulting in significant weight loss or gain unrelated to
As with prenatal depression, there are many possible causes for this. It could be due to hormonal changes and a woman’s inability to adapt her sleep patterns after the baby is born. This type of depression can also lead to violent thoughts towards one’s children or oneself. Postpartum psychosis has different symptoms but it also typically occurs after delivery.
What is Depression?
Depression is a mental illness that affects millions of people around the world. Depression can be difficult to identify, so it’s important to know what depression is and how it manifests itself in different ways. It’s also important to understand why some people suffer from this debilitating disorder more than others.
What are the symptoms of depression?
Depression can make you feel as if you just don’t want to do anything. You might have difficulty concentrating or remembering things, feel less energetic than usual and experience changes in sleep patterns such as insomnia or hypersomnia (sleeping too much).
Depression can make it difficult for a person to enjoy activities they used to find pleasurable, including sex, food, hobbies and work. This can lead to a lack of motivation.
Depression can also cause a loss of appetite or overeating. It might also be accompanied by anger and irritability or feelings of worthlessness, guilt or helplessness. You may feel like you’re slowing down in life, that everything is an effort, and there’s no enjoyment left to be found anywhere.
What causes depression?
Depression can be caused by several different things, including:
- Genetics. If you have a parent, sibling, or grandparent with depression, your chances increase by 20%. This is because genetics can affect our mood and the way we think about ourselves. In addition, this could be due to other mental health disorders that run in families, such as anxiety or bipolar disorder
- An imbalance of chemicals in the brain such as serotonin and dopamine
- A traumatic life event like the death of a loved one or loss of a job
- Other mental health disorders can cause depression. For example, people who suffer from anxiety can also sometimes experience feelings of hopelessness, leading to depression.
What can help eliminate depression?
- Medication can help manage the symptoms of depression (anti-depressants).
- Psychotherapy can be done in person, over the phone or online with a therapist.
- Hypnotherapy can help get you to a state of deep relaxation where you are open to suggestions and can explore the causes of your depression.
- Counselling and support groups.
- Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good.
- Sunlight exposure – go outside for 20 minutes each day and soak up some vitamin D. This is especially important in those who live at high latitudes or on cloudy days where there’s not much natural light.
- Sleeping well – the amount of sleep you need will differ for each person, but not sleeping enough can cause or worsen depression.
- Cutting down on alcohol and caffeine intake as they are both stimulants that may keep you up at night and disrupt your natural circadian rhythm.
How Can I Help?
Together we can look at what’s been happening in your life so that things start to come into perspective and we can work out the best course of action for you to move forward to leave these unpleasant feelings behind. Of course we will need to check that your GP is in favour of working in this way before proceeding to work. Once this is behind us we can focus on moving you forward using the vast array of modern hypnosis tools and techniques which I have to assist you live life to the full again.
Our aim is to move you forward to have a sense of control over your life and your emotions so you can begin to look forward with hope to your future and start to live a life with meaning and purpose.
Testimonials
I would highly recommend Charles to anyone suffering with anxiety/depression. After suffering for almost 20 years, Charles has ‘fixed’ me in just 6 weeks!! He is working miracles and is a true blessing to this world. Thank you so much Charles 🙏🏻
Let’s Do Something About It
Early on we will calibrate where you are so we can track your progress.
We’ll explore in as much depth as you feel comfortable with, what you feel has contributed to or caused your problem and look at ways in which we can release that so that, from the beginning, we are focused on changing your mindset.
We’ll use a variety of modern therapeutic approaches to assist in this process and I’ll teach you tools and techniques to last a lifetime as we move you forward to living life with ease and confidence.