1614 X St., Suite A
Sacramento, CA 95818
US
916-287-3430
ivy@thrivetherapyandcounseling.com
Thrive Therapy & Counseling provides high quality therapy to Highly Sensitive People and to kids, teens or adults struggling with anxiety, depression or self-esteem.
This blog is written by a therapist in midtown Sacramento and focuses on the concerns and struggles of highly sensitive people (HSPs) and of kids, teens and adults struggling with depression, anxiety or just trying to figure out what they want for themselves. There's help and hope through counseling and therapy!
Filtering by Category: therapy for depression
In April, I wrote about supporting teens in a seemingly unstable world. Since then, most would agree that the world at large hasn’t gotten any more normal. Dysfunctional politics, news of humanitarian disasters and inhumane conflicts, illusionment through social media, the looming threat of unaddressed climate change, inflation and economic stress; these are part of our shared reality, the boat we’re all in together.
Read More“How long does therapy take to start working?” “I've been in therapy over a year, why do I still have the same issues?” “Will I need therapy the rest of my life?” These are important questions that deserve thoughtful consideration. Read on for insights from a therapist who has provided both short and long-term therapy.
Read MoreWe’ve all had moments where we’ve been less-than-kind to ourselves. We might have struggled to accomplish something and called ourselves either out loud or internally things like failure, lazy, stupid or even worthless. In the moment, it probably doesn’t feel like such a big deal, we might even feel like we deserve it, or we minimize and tell ourselves it isn’t so bad since we only did it once or twice. But the fact of the matter is that word choice is a powerful thing, and every time we direct harsh negativity towards ourselves we are essentially feeding ourselves poison.
Read MoreThere can be so much anxiety when interacting with medical professionals. We wait weeks, maybe even months for an appointment, and the second we get in the room it can feel like all the air has left the space, and we might feel ourselves shrinking and pulling in. The second they start to speak it can feel like all our well grounded points and concerns were a house of cards and we have trouble asserting ourselves due to nerves or anxiety. For many this ends in deferring to the authority of the professional in the room, even if we don’t agree. When we leave we might be left feeling unheard, dissatisfied and sometimes even gaslit.
Read MoreWhile there is a lot of talk about therapy being positive and helpful, a lot of people don’t realize that there are different levels of care. Because of this, some people end up in services that are not the right match for the current severity of their symptoms and this can lead to individuals disengaging from services prematurely if they feel like therapy can’t help them. Below I have outlined the different levels of care to help you better ascertain what your therapeutic needs may be.
Read MoreHave you ever thought, "If only I had a partner, then I'd be happy"? Or maybe you've imagined how much better life would be if you were out with friends. Many of us imagine that in some other version of our lives the grass is greener, but what might be the consequences of this belief?
Read More"What if I don't like myself?" "What if I hate myself sometimes?" So many of us experience this and wonder if there is something deeply, deeply wrong with us. I've thought about it a lot recently and while I don't believe I have "the answer", I think the answer I have might be helpful for some.
Read MoreIn addition to anxiety and depression, low motivation is one of the most common reasons I’ve noticed people seek out therapy. There are things that they want to do and things they must do, and they’re really struggling to accomplish their goals. What’s worse is they’re often really hard themselves about their struggles and may end up paralyzed by shame and overwhelm. This can lead to feelings of failure, being stunted, stuck, or not succeeding at life.
Read MoreWhen I think of grief and loss, there are a handful of emotions that come to mind: sadness, anger, fear, agony, overwhelm, and many more that we may not even have words for. All of these are valid. In these moments, I personally have found it helpful to have some guiding pillars to return to and act as my compass while navigating through the intricacies of this experience. Today, I’d like to share those with you all. Whether you’re experiencing grief, loss, or a combination of both I encourage you to remember and exercise the following…
Read MoreSelf-harm is a scary and uncomfortable topic that is often kept hidden and seen as a shameful secret or as a dramatic attention seeking behavior. However, the more this issue is kept hidden and seen as shameful the longer it is able to persist and go untreated.
Read MoreEver notice that taking responsibility can feel scary sometimes? Like you'd rather let someone else make decisions for you? Or maybe you avoid taking control of your finances because you feel bad at math or you feel ashamed you don't know more about budgeting. Perhaps you leave everything up to the universe and hope for the best while fearing the worst. You are NOT alone!
Read MoreSomething I hear a lot from clients who have sought therapy, is that it took them a long time to decide to go for it. This can be for many reasons (bad past experiences in therapy, stigma around mental health, anxiety around diving into painful emotions etc.) but it is often born out of uncertainty that the issues they wish to address are actually changeable. The sense of a problem being unbeatable is often due to people logically understanding the issue they are having, but they still cannot seem to stop it. This situation leads people to ask: “What would a therapist really be able to help me with? I already know what my problem is and how it came about.”
Read MoreHave you noticed any changes in yourself lately? Maybe you have a harder-than-usual time of getting out of bed in the morning, and you’ve been sleeping a lot. Or, you can’t seem to shake this feeling of “meh.” Things may not seem very fun or interesting because you just don’t really care. You might find yourself not wanting to go anywhere in the evenings and spending more time bingeing on shows and vegging out. With this low energy and desire to hibernate, you may also notice that you’re spending more time alone or not connecting as well with your partner, friends or loved ones.
Read Morea. On one end of the spectrum, people may still go to work or school, spend time with friends and family and keep pursuing their hobbies. However, they find they just don’t care very much. Or their energy is really low. Or it feels like life went gray (remember Pleasantville? Yea, gray like that.)---nothing else changed but everything is less exciting, less interesting, more boring or blah. The people who care about them may have no idea anything is wrong. They keep going along in life as always, but they know things are off. They really want to just feel lighter, more like themselves or more like how they think they could be.
b. At the more extreme end of the spectrum, people may not get out of bed. They may cry all day or lie around and binge on Netflix for days and weeks. They may feel so horrible that they don’t want to live anymore. The more intense depressive symptoms are easier to recognize. They’re also very painful for the people experiencing them and for their loved ones.