Depression & Low Mood
Helping you navigate depression and low mood while reconnecting with what matters most to you.

Why am I depressed?

Depression can develop for different reasons.

Perhaps it has followed a significant event in your life such as bereavement, a relationship breakdown, illness, retirement, unemployment, trauma or some other significant loss. In these situations, the connection between the event and your low mood is often relatively clear.

Yet sometimes, depression seems to emerge without any obvious trigger.

Your life may feel stable, relationships intact and circumstances relatively positive – but your feelings of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness or loss of motivation persist. This is sometimes referred to as endogenous depression, suggesting that biological, genetic or neurological factors may play a greater role.

In reality, the distinction is rarely clear-cut. Most episodes of depression involve a complex interaction between your life experiences, personality, coping styles, relationships, physical health and biological factors.

Regardless of how it begins, depression can affect the way you think, feel and engage with the world around you. Counselling focuses less on assigning a label and more on understanding your unique experience and identifying your pathway forward.

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How do I know if I’m depressed?

Everyone experiences periods of sadness, disappointment and emotional pain – particularly when you’re already under pressure and then experience a series of setbacks. If life is a series of highs and lows, then this is the low. But sometimes your low mood doesn’t seem to lift.

Instead of feeling as though you’re moving through a difficult patch, it can feel like you’re now stuck in a trough, and unable to regain your footing. It may seem like a long time since you’ve genuinely felt happy, hopeful or excited about the future.

As this continues, you may notice other emotions becoming more intense. Perhaps you’re feeling anxious, irritable, or just angry? Or a growing frustration with yourself for not being able to simply “snap out of it.”

You may find yourself withdrawing from other people, losing interest in activities you once enjoyed, struggling to concentrate, or becoming increasingly critical of yourself. Thought patterns that were once balanced have become pessimistic and self-defeating.

Your body can be affected too. Changes in sleep, appetite, energy levels, motivation and libido are all common experiences.

What does severe depression feel like?

If these feelings persist for weeks or months, the trough can begin to feel more like a deep hole that you simply can’t climb out of.

Everyday tasks become difficult. Your relationships suffer. Work may feel overwhelming. Perhaps you have tried to cope with alcohol or other substances in an attempt to numb the pain.

At its most severe, depression can leave you feeling hopeless, helpless and disconnected from life itself. Thoughts about death or suicide may emerge, making it essential to seek professional support immediately.

The good news is that depression is highly treatable. Whether it has emerged following a significant life event or seems to have appeared without any obvious cause, there are effective ways to understand what is happening and begin moving forward again.

Will antidepressant medication help?

This is a question best explored with your GP or psychiatrist, as medication decisions require medical expertise and careful monitoring.

We take a team-based approach and prefer to work alongside your medical practitioners as part of your care. We don’t view medication and counselling as competing alternatives, but complementary approaches, each playing a different role in recovery.

For some people, antidepressant medication can significantly reduce symptoms and create the emotional space needed to engage more effectively in counselling and everyday life. For others, the benefits may be more modest, and some people find medication is not particularly helpful.

Unfortunately, there is no reliable way to predict exactly how an individual will respond. Factors such as your biology, physical health, life circumstances and the nature of your depression can all influence the outcome.

If your GP believes medication may be appropriate, it is best approached as a carefully monitored trial, allowing you to evaluate both the benefits and any side effects before deciding whether it’s the right option for you.

Whether or not medication forms part of your treatment plan, counselling can help you better understand your experience, develop effective coping strategies, and work towards meaningful and lasting change.

What’s the best approach for me?

One of the challenges in treating depression is that there is rarely a single cause.

There are multiple evidence-based pathways to recovery because there are multiple pathways into depression, and each focuses on a different aspect of the problem.

For one person, depression may have emerged following a significant loss or life change. For another, it may be connected to long-standing patterns of self-criticism, difficult relationships, unresolved experiences, overwhelming stress, or a gradual loss of purpose and direction.

Some approaches help us better understand the experiences that may have contributed to your depression. Others focus on the way depression influences your thoughts, emotions and behaviour. Some help you develop practical skills to interrupt unhelpful patterns, whilst others explore the role of relationships, values, meaning and purpose.

Before we decide how to proceed, we first need to understand what is keeping your depression alive.

Rather than assuming there is a single “right” approach, we see counselling as a process of exploration and discovery – a collaborative investigation.

Together, we will work to identify and understand the factors that may be contributing to it. Your counsellor brings knowledge, experience and evidence-based tools; you bring the expertise of your own life.

As our understanding grows, we can begin to identify the strategies most likely to help you move forward. For some people, this involves addressing unresolved issues from the past. For others, it means challenging unhelpful thinking patterns, rebuilding relationships, reconnecting with personal values, developing new coping skills, or gradually re-engaging with life.

Our goal is not simply to reduce symptoms. It is to help you regain a sense of hope, confidence, purpose and connection.

Depression & Low Mood

Why am I depressed?

How do I know if I’m depressed?

What does severe depression feel like?

Will antidepressant medication help?

What’s the best approach for me?

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