• Are you experiencing loss of interest in doing the things you used to enjoy?

• Are you having trouble getting motivated or getting out of bed?

• Are you feeling hopeless? Unable to see a brighter future?

• Are you feeling worthless or without direction?

You are not alone! Depression is a common, and, as a high indicator in suicide, a potentially fatal disorder. Every year, depression affects over 20 million adult Americans. Family, friends, and other loved-ones are also affected, feeling helpless and lost. However, depression is a treatable disorder. There is hope!

It seems likely that men suffer from depression just as often as women, but they are less likely to ask for help, keeping feelings of sadness and loneliness to themselves. Although depression can affects anyone, depression in men is more likely to appear as exhaustion, insomnia, and loss of interest in social or recreational activities. Men may also try to self-medicate their depression with drugs and alcohol, anger or violence, risky behaviors, or "tuning out" through work.

As a therapist, I work extensively with men, and have noticed that men often "fall" into depression as a result of internalized belief of failing to meet familial or societal expectations.

A man came to see me with a case of severe depression. He had a sense of unworthiness and felt defective and adrift in his life. Together we looked at his habit of internalizing shame about who he is and his accomplishments in life.

I asked about his life's vision. He expressed his goals and agreed to focus on small milestones to accomplish them. We celebrated his victories, encouraging him to aim higher and take on larger goals.

One of his interests was photography, a vocation and hobby that we were able to translate into a community volunteer position. As a result of his work on a city project, he received an offer for a full-time, paid position. Thus transforming his life.

Depression can hijack a woman at any age. Like any other chronic illness, depression can be contained with psychotherapy, medication, and self-care. In women, depression often appears as lethargy, lack of interest in activities and relationships, anxiety, and hopelessness. Women tend to self-medicate depression with hidden drug or alcohol abuse, such as through excessive use of prescription medication, or "tuning out" through sleep and food.

A female client recently came to my office for help with clinical depression. With a previous history with depression, she had been doing well for the past few years. She had gotten an advanced degree and started a career that she enjoyed. However, as she got involved in a new relationship, feelings of guilt and hopelessness began to trouble her. She got irritable and distant, was losing interest in sex, and was increasingly fearful, sad, with a sense of losing control of her life. She had gained weight and could not "get out of bed" most mornings.

With exploration of past and recent events, it became clear that unresolved early abandonment and loss were being retriggered in the present. Fear of rejection, and loss of self identity were fueling an old pattern of sadness and isolation. With therapeutic support she was able to overcome thee struggles and be an active participant in her own life.

Click here for an article on holiday stress reduction.

Click here for 10 stress-management and anti-depression tools in my Denver depression therapy.

Click here for information on sex and internet porn addiction in my Denver sex therapy practice.

Click here for more on anger management in my Denver, Colorado, psychotherapy practice.

Click here for more on men's mental health issues in my Denver counseling practice.

Click here for more on women's mental health issues in my Denver psychotherapy practice.

Click here for more on Men and Women at Midlife Transition in my Denver psychotherapy practice.