Depression is a condition characterised by prolonged feelings of sadness or despondency that significantly interfere with the sufferer’s everyday life. It is often typified by feelings of hopelessness and low self-worth. A person with depression can find it difficult to maintain interest, perform daily functions and feel any joy or satisfaction with life.
Traditional treatments for depression focus on managing the symptoms, often relying heavily on prescription medications and not identifying and eliminating the root cause of the depression.
Other options are rarely explored, leaving it up to the sufferer or their loved ones to search desperately for their own alternative solutions.
At times of deep stress, during unwanted events or prolonged emotional trauma, we can slip into a depressive state, unable to come out the other side. When depression becomes more than a difficult stage in life, it causes powerful mental and physical suffering and can take hold over your life and lead to catastrophic outcomes.
Conditions that develop as a result of depression can include an inability to maintain relationships, withdrawal from social occasions or an increase in harmful coping strategies. When the repercussions of depression begin to escalate, sufferers can become even more depressed and unable to see a way out of their situation. Trying to stop a painful emotion at best only achieves a temporary fix, so at Palladium Private we teach simple ways to halt, alter and reverse these patterns, and how to adopt new behaviours and ways of thinking that lead to lasting change from deep within.
The Palladium Private holistic BioPsychoSocial Program is supported by Rational Emotional Behaviour Therapy (REBT), Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance Change Therapy (ACT) – underpinned by Mindfulness Training. Our approach is accompanied by nutritious meals prepared by our chefs, with attention given to every aspect of your psychological and physiological health by our personal trainers, yoga teachers, acupuncturists, relaxation and remedial massage therapists. If you or someone you love needs intervention with their depression, we invite you to speak with one of our admissions consultants about tailoring a program best suited for your needs. Simply fill in our online enquiry form and we’ll get back to you or call us at Palladium Private on 1300 573 095.
There is no single, but multiple causes of depression and psychiatrists believe it is more likely to be a combination of different influences such as biological factors (genetics, hormones or a chemical imbalance) and environmental factors (traumatic life events or situations).
Ongoing depression can result in an inability to maintain relationships, social withdrawal or an increase in addictive behaviours or unhealthy coping mechanisms.
When the repercussions of depression begin to escalate, sufferers can become even more helpless and unable to see a way out of their situation.
If you or someone you know thinks they might be suffering from depression, common signs and symptoms for depression to look out for include:
The good news is there are effective treatments and recovery support services available for depression. There are a range of therapies and lifestyle improvements which, alone or in combination, can help to alleviate the symptoms of depression and help sufferers to come out from within themselves and reconnect with the world.
Psychological treatments are about helping clients identify damaging thoughts and behaviours and change their deep core beliefs and automatic thinking patterns so they’re better able to cope with the stressors in life.
A treatment based on helping clients recognise that the way they think and act affects how they feel. It involves identifying those negative thought and behaviour patterns that make them more likely to be depressed and teaching them to change them to positive and realistic ones.
Like CBT, it helps clients to identify the negative thoughts and attitudes that lead to depression, but unlike CBT, it doesn’t teach them to change those thoughts, but rather teaches them to focus on other thoughts that are more pleasant and rewarding.
This treatment is normally given in groups and involves mindfulness meditation, which teaches clients to focus on the present moment. This can teach them to recognise the warning signs early and to prevent their minds from returning to unpleasant thoughts and feelings.
Treatments other than psychological therapies can sometimes be beneficial for sufferers of depression. These can be used alone or in conjunction with psychological therapy and include exercise, mindfulness, massage therapy, art therapy, and other forms of somatic activity.
Massage therapy is known to be beneficial for people suffering from depression because it reduces the levels of stress hormones in the brain and body, such as adrenaline and cortisol which can trigger or exacerbate depression. Massage also produces chemical changes in the brain that result in a feeling of relaxation and wellbeing, providing a distraction from negative thoughts and helping the client to create a calm, receptive inner state conducive to healing.
Regular physical exercise can also increase the brain’s serotonin levels, which regulate mood, sleep, libido and appetite. Exercise also increase the level of endorphins, which have proven mood-elevating properties. Exercise also increases energy, improves sleep, provides a social outlet, and increases a person’s sense of control and self-esteem.
Our personal, tailored BioPsychoSocial programs are designed to empower you to deal with
issues in your life including:
