Persistent Depression – Is There Help?

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Persistent feelings of hopelessness and helplessness can trap sufferers whose distressed perspective alienates them from friends, from family, and from being their more loving, joyful selves...

Anyone who has experienced Depression understands that it is uniquely painful. Persistent feelings of hopelessness and helplessness can trap sufferers whose distressed perspective alienates them from friends, from family, and from being their more loving, joyful selves.

Any depression can be due to a variety of factors including personal history, situational triggers and biological predisposition. Often, depression comes in the context of trauma history including not just outright acts of neglect, abuse, or life-threatening events, but also “quieter” experiences – cumulative psychic harm some clinicians refer to as “micro-trauma” – that can be no less damaging.  

There is help. Researchers generally agree that Psychotherapy – “Talk Therapy” – improves outcomes for the depressed, be it a single or recurrent depressive episode, or refractory, “treatment resistant” depression. (Typically, “treatment resistant” refers to zero or negligible relief from pharmaceutical interventions.)

In my private psychotherapy practice – as well as my past experiences working on inpatient psychiatric units – I have seen first-hand the significant relief that good talk therapy can facilitate. With the right therapist, sufferers of depression feel safe, feel respected, and feel understood; as wounds heal, trust grows and relationships thrive.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has estimated that more than 16 million U.S. adults have had at least one major depressive episode and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has deemed depression highly recurrent, estimating that 50% of those who recover from a first depressive episode will endure at least one recurrence.

If you or a loved one is struggling with depression – including persistent, treatment resistant depression – please reach out for help.