Depression

What Is Depression?

Depressive episodes occur when someone has a persistently low mood and/or loss of pleasure along with a number of other symptoms, including feelings of hopelessness, sleep disruptions, difficulties concentrating, and thoughts of death or suicide.

Depression is not the same as feeling sad. While sadness is an emotion we all experience in response to loss, depression involves a prolonged episode often including sadness or numbness that is accompanied by other changes that cause significant distress or impairment.

What Is Major Depressive Disorder?

Major depressive disorder is a mental health condition characterized by the presence of one or more depressive episodes. It can affect the way you think, feel, and function in various aspects of your life, including school, work, and relationships.

Symptoms of depression can include:

  • Persistent feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness

  • Loss of interest or pleasure in activities that once brought joy

  • Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much

  • Increased or reduced appetite, resulting in weight gain or loss

  • Restlessness, or slowed thinking, speech, and movement

  • Fatigue or low energy

  • Feelings of worthlessness and excessive or inappropriate guilt

  • Trouble concentrating or making decisions

  • Thoughts of death or suicide

How Do We Treat Major Depressive Disorder?

Depression can be a very debilitating and isolating experience, but there is support available to help you manage this condition and mitigate the impact of depressive symptoms on your life. Major depressive disorder is normally treated with a combination of medication and psychotherapy. Therapy for depression helps people address unhelpful thinking patterns, like self-criticism and excessive guilt. Therapy will also usually incorporate mindfulness and acceptance-based strategies to help us navigate uncomfortable experiences more smoothly.

Lifestyle changes can be very helpful in navigating depressive symptoms. If you’re struggling with depression, consider increasing your engagement with meaningful activities (behavioural activation), exercising, eating and sleeping regularly, and connecting with other people more often.

Seeking Depression Therapy In Toronto?

WG Psychology is a mental health clinic dedicated to providing compassionate, evidence-based assessment and psychotherapy services for adults. We offer depression therapy in Toronto for adults aged 18-65 who are struggling with depressive symptoms and their consequences. Our clinic’s approach to depression therapy pulls from numerous psychotherapy orientations, including Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT). WG Psychology’s skilled clinicians treat depression in Toronto both in-person at our downtown location and virtually for anyone located in Ontario. Connect with us to book an appointment!

Toronto Depression Treatment Team