It’s a word that gets used pretty often today. But do we think it could happen to us?

• A stay-at-home mom who struggles to get out of bed every morning, but smiles and chats at drop offs.
• A student whose grades have just started to slip.
• A father who jokes around at work and is later consumed by self-doubt and negative self-talk.
• A grandmother who has lost her appetite and motivation to participate in daily activities.
• A young adult who has recently graduated, bound for college but who lies awake at night wishing they weren’t here so they wouldn’t have to continue to deal with everything.

Depression can look so different from person to person. A depressed person may actually present with what one may assume a “depressed person” looks like; unkempt, tired, low energy, sad, negative, down. But a depressed person may also look like someone who has it all together, smiling, upbeat, positive. This person presents like everything is seemingly fine to others but internally they are in chaos, despair, hopelessness, numb.

Did you know that symptoms of depression only need to be occurring for two weeks to constitute a diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder? A therapist can help you understand that internal turmoil that is causing your sad mood, is impacting your appetite and sleep, is decreasing concentration, is thwarting your motivation and ability to enjoy things you used to, is perpetuating feelings of guilt and worthlessness, hopelessness and even leading to suicidal ideation and or thoughts of self-harm. A therapist can help you identify the symptoms and the impact on your life. A therapist or psychologist can provide insight and tools to help you get back to feeling like yourself again.