Dysphoria or unhappiness is often commonly called depression. As in "I'm so depressed," meaning "I'm unhappy with my life" or "I feel down because I can't get my life to work the way I want it to."
It can take some courage to begin counselling for dysphoria. There is no quick fix or shortcut, but it doesn't need years of therapy to turn your life around. Sometimes a fresh outlook and a new approach are all it takes to get unstuck and back on track.
It may be hard to start interpersonal therapy when your negative thoughts and loss of interest make you want to stay on the couch all day. Depression is a set of symptoms classified as a mood disorder, ranging from mild depression to major depressive disorder as a mental illness. Dysphoria is similarly uncomfortable and disruptive to your life but not considered a mental illness.
The issues at the heart of dysphoria often run much deeper than drugs can address. Although anti-depressants may make you feel better for a while, the real problems are not being addressed by masking the symptoms chemically. While pharmaceuticals can help relieve symptoms, experts agree that the issues are usually deeply rooted and that mind-altering drugs cannot adequately address the root causes.
In psychiatry, it is common to treat depression with drugs that interact with your brain. You may be able to treat some of the symptoms, but you cannot permanently eliminate unhappiness by merely masking its symptoms chemically. You would need to normalize and integrate its root causes to overcome dysphoria. While in cases of depression, it may be necessary to try psychiatric intervention first, in less severe cases, you may be best to start your journey back to mental health in psychotherapy.
My approach to working through dysphoria is to see it as a process rather than an illness. The symptoms of dysphoria include fatigue, isolation, loneliness, endless second-guessing, grieving, mind-chatter, anxiety, etc., but this collection of symptoms stems from the root cause of depression.
Dealing with the underlying issues provides resilience and a permanent new approach. Dealing with the root causes allows you to emerge stronger and with a new foundation, in reality, to build your life on.
"This is a huge change from my old life... it feels wonderful to live like this... I wish everyone could know what this feels like!!"
I consider depression and dysphoria, in most cases, a healing response of our minds rather than a medical condition. For example, I have worked with people with depression after having been on pills for 15 years! After a few weeks of work, they began to feel better about themselves, their outlook and their life. They truly started to engage themselves in life again.
In the sessions, we work with a three-pronged approach to free yourself from depression: Understand, Embody, Relate.
Every week we progress through cumulative breakthroughs, self-discovery and sometimes some easy exercises that lead to understanding ourselves in the world around us in a new way. Soon thereafter, we transition to the following two phases, wherein you discover the key tools to your happiness and create within your life and universe.
Come and talk.
* If you were prescribed medication, please ensure you take the medication as prescribed by your physician. While this work may be beneficial to you, it is not recommended to alter the dose or timing of your medication without consulting a medical professional. Many clients work with their medical professionals to reduce or end their medication. Please do not make such decisions without medical advice.