Symptoms of low mood include
- negative feelings
- apathy
- self-critical thinking
- low self-esteem
- relationship problems
- poor work performance
- poor physical health
- reduced sex drive
- loss of confidence
- feeling anxious
Low mood and its symptoms can be cyclical. Everything can be ok for months, but then something happens that triggers the return of the low mood.
Sufferers become more introverted, start to obsess on things, lose confidence, and become caught up in negative thinking. It becomes harder to communicate with partners and children, gradually the sufferer becomes isolated and withdrawn and can feel stressed.
Prescription medicine or talking therapy for low mood?
The current trend is to turn to science for the answers to low mood and to see things in terms of problems with our brain chemistry. Sufferers of low mood are reported to have a low level of neurotransmitters in the brain, serotonin boosting drugs are often suggested.
There is clearly a body of evidence that supports this approach but some people prefer not to take prescription medicines. There is also the sense that seeing low mood as a chemical or hormonal issue confuses the point that there is a difference between brain and mind.
The brain is an organ. Mind, or psyche, or soul, isn’t an organ, it is the metaphysical part of us. It is the part of us that responds to relationships, if you are more of a mind person, then you may prefer to talk to someone about your low mood than take drugs.
It is often helpful to use a combination of medical drugs and talking therapy.
Some low moods are significantly improved by psychotherapy and counselling. Speaking, relating, in a confidential and professional relationship may help you:
- to feel better
- to break the isolation
- to gain insight into yourself
- to make more sense of yourself
- to learn more about what your low moods relate to
- to unburden yourself of the things you never tell anyone
Talking in psychotherapy may help you break the cycle of negativity and depressed feelings that go with low mood, enabling you to:
- have better relationships with yourself, with your friends, with your partner and with your family
- have better mood,
- have better energy
- be better able to deliver quality work,
- be better able to deliver your potential,
- have better health generally,
- experience more contentment,
- enjoy a better perspective
Don’t avoid your low mood, speak about it and learn more about what it relates to
Our emotional states, like low mood, tend to relate to our experiences. The emotions we feel tell us important things about ourselves. How do we find a way to take the information seriously? How do we find a way to learn more about our feelings?
Some times we need help, someone to talk to. A psychotherapy conversation has a way of helping us gain perspective on our emotions and feelings which means you break the spiral of introversion and isolation, and when we do that we tend to feel better.
The remarkable thing is that though our moods seem completely overpowering when we are in the grip of them, often the smallest bit of insight can be all it takes to help us move into a completely transformed state of mind. Moods change.
Low moods and feelings tend to relate to events we have been through
There are big life experiences such as bereavement, trauma, divorce and redundancy. Then there are smaller things such as a relationship that feels it’s going wrong. Small things wear our moods down too.
What is the history of your low moods?
Usually there is a history to low mood. Working with Counselling Buckinghamshire will help you gain perspective and help you understand more about what your moods relate to? This will improve your confidence about how you relate to your emotional states.
Your low mood is a sign that something in your life needs attention
In Jungian analysis a mood is thought of as a complex, an autonomous feeling toned experience. A Jungian therapist works to help you understand more about the moods that grip you. Building up information helps us to lessen the grip of the mood. A recurrent low mood might be thought of as someone knocking on your door to try to get your attention. Working with an experienced psychotherapist can help you develop the confidence to open the door and find out what all the knocking is about.
Some low moods trap people in with secrets and feelings of shame, sometimes a psychotherapeutic conversation lets enough light in to push the low mood away. When this happens you:
- feel your confidence lift
- break out of the dark and feel your spirits lift
- will find that being listened to will make you feel able to say more about your low moods
- will feel more energy and enthusiasm for living, for working, and for your relationships
What other treatments are available for low mood?
Often a low mood will be diagnosed as depression and medication prescribed (see above), possibly also with a referral to see a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT). For some people this may prove a good choice. Others find that they would prefer a less pre-scripted therapy that looks more at underlying causes.
How can Counselling Buckinghamshire help?
The symptoms of low mood can have a profound impact on your everyday life. You may find yourself trapped in a narrowing spiral of feelings that effect you and the people around you. At Counselling Buckinghamshire we have a depth of experience of working with people who are trying to overcome problems relating to symptoms of low mood.
We are highly trained listeners, this means that your story will be heard, and being heard tends to make people feel better.
We help people to:
- develop a working understanding of what has happened to them,
- understand how their low mood developed and why they suffer the symptoms they do
- learn how to lead and not be led by emotions and the thoughts that go with low mood
- learn how to deal with low mood to improve professional and personal relationships
Contact now for a free telephone consultation to discuss how this approach may be relevant to you.
