Douglas Johns, LCSW
Portland, Oregon
503-252-3739
Counseling Therapy For Depression ~ Portland, Oregon
Douglas Johns, LCSW
If you look over all the pages on my website you'll see a common theme: Self-compassion. Nowhere is self-compassion more important or more difficult to cultivate than with depression. Depression may be the loneliest of feelings.
Structure can help. Getting regular exercise has been shown to be superior to medications and psychotherapy in some depression studies. Eating well is equally important. Food fuels our mood. Sometimes anxiety contributes to depression. Learning to find and trust your center of being through calming the mind is instrumental. And, I know, beginning these can just feel too overwhelming.
One place to consider starting is with intention. Having an intention for yourself. Finding that place within you, no matter how remote, that desires comfort, peace and love for you. Perhaps it's helpful to consider anyone who also desires these for you. Perhaps it's a pet, a family member or a friend. What loving intention do they have for you?
What's important, especially with depression, is to begin, even in the smallest way, to generate intention for you. This is not "mind over matter" or "positive thinking". There's also no blame here. Intention is like the needle on a compass. The needle points in a specific direction to remind you where you'd like to go. This doesn't guarantee when or how you'll get there but it can generate hope to have an intentional direction to return to.
Intention inspires hope. "May I be comforted. May I be at peace. May I be loved." Perhaps you might try this phrase on for size. Say it aloud and experience how it feels. "May I be comforted. May I be at peace. May I be loved." This is the beginning of self-compassion; the antidote for depression. Just having some small intention, without self-judgement, for your unique life to improve is enough right now.
My counseling method for depression structures a foundation of self-compassion. Like any strong foundation self-compassion contributes to the strength of what's built on top. We can return to a strong foundation over and over again. Returning: That's structure in a nutshell. Returning to ourselves. Returning to our experience. Returning to our deepest aspirations to be safe, to be loving and to be loved.
Please call me with any questions you have at 503-252-3739.