London Therapy Hub
Depression
What Depression Can Feel Like
Depression is more than feeling low or having a bad day. It can be a deeply painful and exhausting experience that affects how you think, feel, relate to others, and move through everyday life.
Many people describe depression as feeling numb, empty, hopeless, or trapped — as though life has lost its colour or meaning. Others feel weighed down by guilt, harsh self-criticism, or a persistent sense of failure.
It is common for people experiencing depression to be self-critical or feel that they are flawed or unlovable which can lead to feelings of shame and a gradual withdrawal from others.
Depression can also drain energy and motivation.
Simple tasks may feel overwhelming, and getting through the day can require immense effort. This loss of motivation often becomes part of a painful cycle: feeling unable to act can increase feelings of hopelessness, which in turn deepens the depression.
Although depression is common, it is also deeply personal. No two people experience it in exactly the same way, and there is no single cause or solution
Different Forms Of Depression
Some people experience major depressive episodes, characterised by persistent low mood, loss of interest or pleasure, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and changes in appetite or concentration.
Others live with a longer-term, more chronic low mood or emotional flatness. This type of depression may feel less intense but more ingrained, often becoming part of how life is experienced over time.
Depression can also be situational, arising in response to bereavement, relationship breakdown, trauma, illness, or major life changes. In some cases, biological or genetic factors may also play a role, particularly where depression runs in families.
Many people experience a combination of these factors, and depression is often complicated by anxiety, stress, or unresolved emotional experiences
Causes Of Depression
I often find that my clients blame themselves for their depression or else they blame themselves for other things
Research increasingly recognises depression as the result of multiple interacting factors, including:
- Life experiences and relationships
- Early attachment and emotional development
- Stress, trauma, or loss
- Biological or genetic vulnerability
- Social factors such as isolation, inequality, or chronic pressure
Rather than seeing it as a personal failure, it becomes possible to understand depression as a meaningful response to difficult internal and external circumstances. Understanding depression in this way can be relieving.
How Therapy Can Help
Psychotherapy offers a confidential, supportive space to explore depression without judgement. Therapy does not aim to offer quick fixes or simplistic solutions. Instead, it focuses on understanding how your depression has developed and what it may be communicating about your emotional world.
Therapy can help you to:
- Make sense of difficult thoughts and feelings
- Reduce self-criticism and shame
- Process loss, trauma, or unresolved experiences
- Develop greater emotional awareness and resilience
- Reconnect with meaning, agency, and hope
For many people, simply being understood and having their experience taken seriously can bring relief. Depression often thrives in isolation; therapy offers a relational space where difficult feelings can be shared, explored, and thought about safely.
While therapy does not promise instant relief, it can help create movement where things feel stuck. es not promise instant relief, it can help create movement where things feel stuck
While therapy does not promise instant relief, it can help create movement where things feel stuck. Over time, many people develop a kinder relationship with themselves, a clearer understanding of their inner world, and a renewed sense of possibility.
In some cases, psychotherapy alone may be sufficient. In others, a combined approach — such as therapy alongside medication, lifestyle changes, or medical support — may be most helpful.
When To Seek Support
You do not need to have everything figured out before starting therapy. safe and secure we feel in the world
Most people will experience depression at some point in their lives. If low mood is persistent, overwhelming, or affecting your ability to function day to day, it is important to seek support.
You do not need to have everything figured out before starting therapy. You can begin exactly where you are — even if all you know is that something doesn’t feel right.
If you would like to explore what you are experiencing or talk about whether therapy might be helpful, you are welcome to get in touch with me.
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