Depression and Anxiety
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 1 in 5 US adults experience mental illness every year, and 1 in 20 US adults experience serious mental illness.
Despite all of the work that has been done to destigmatize mental health issues, they are still misunderstood. Many people still think it means that a person is “crazy” or “broken”; some think that those who suffer from mental illness must have done something to bring it on themselves. None of this is true.
Depression and anxiety are two of the most common mental health issues I work with in my practice.
Per NAMI, 19.1% of US adults (more than 40 million) have an anxiety disorder; these disorders are the most common mental health issue in the US. Everyone feels anxious sometimes, but anxiety disorders go beyond that; they interfere significantly with a person’s everyday life. The most common anxiety disorders in the US are generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and phobias.
You’ve probably heard people say, “I’m so depressed!” when what they really mean is that they’re sad. Depression goes beyond sadness, and, as with anxiety disorders, interferes significantly with daily life. Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects about 15.5% of US adults in a given year. Sometimes depression has a seasonal pattern. Persistent depressive disorder, or dysthymia, is a pervasive depressive disorder that lasts at least two years.
Both medications and psychotherapy have been shown to be effective in treating anxiety and depressive disorders. One difference is that the positive effects of medications last only as long as the person is taking the medications, whereas the benefits of psychotherapy generally
continue after the therapy has ended.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is often recommended for the treatment of anxiety and depression. I find it to be useful, but it has its limits. For instance, if trauma has a role in the formation of anxiety or depression, CBT alone is unlikely to be sufficient; other treatments are needed to heal the trauma.
Another limitation of CBT is that, in my experience, it does not fully resolve negative self-talk. So many clients, when they first come to me, know intellectually that the negative things they’ve told themselves weren’t true, but they still believe them. I have found that my preferred therapeutic techniques (EMDR, Brainspotting, IFS, and sandtray therapy) actually help the logical brain to connect to the deeper, more “primitive” parts of the brain so that ALL parts of the brain get the memo and know that the negative self-talk is not true.
If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, call or text me at 410-888-0590, or email JenniferBeall.LCPC@gmail.com.
