It was a difficult, but necessary, conversation.
You had to let your husband know that his bad habits were becoming an issue for you. The gambling. The drinking. The late nights. the counseling therapy services that you had been attending encouraged you to tell your partner what was bothering you. Instead of just lashing out at unexpected and unpredictable times, the individual counseling sessions had taught you how to frame your concerns and present the situation to your husband. The best next step would be attending couples therapy services, but that could not happen until you had the initial conversation with your husband.
It would likely be the most difficult conversation you would ever have, but you hoped that it would be worth it. You hoped that when you shared your concerns with your husband he would respond with an effort to help save himself, and maybe your marriage as well. Without the conversation, you knew that your situation would continue to get worse. You were losing sleep. You were losing weight. And, most recently, you were losing your patience and your temper. The bottled up frustrations were making you tired, sick, and irrational.
Couples Therapy Sessions May Help Save Many Marriages, May Help Avoid Depression
Statistically, many marriages in America do not last. And while it is frustrating and heartbreaking to see a loved one’s marriage end in divorce, it can be even more difficult to see a loved one leave a failed marriage and slip into a serious state of depression. Depression can cost people their jobs, their health, and their future.
Therapy services that are initially started for the purpose of saving a marriage can often uncover other situations with a couple or with the individuals in a marriage. Depression in one person, for example, can lead to reckless behavior that includes drinking and gambling. Depression in another person, however, can lead to seclusion and an extreme sense of helplessness.
The decision to start therapy services, whether as a couple or as an individual, can lead to a healthy way to examine and overcome behaviors that otherwise could lead to even bigger problems. Unfortunately, nearly half of Americans with major depression do not seek treatment for the mental illness. Undiagnosed or untreated depression can lead to divorce, unemployments, self harm, and other dangerous situations. Patients who visit with a therapist, however, can often find ways to recognize symptoms and cope with difficult feelings.
Consider some of the following statistics about depression in America:
- Nearly 16 million About 16,000,000 U.S. adults had at least one major depressive episode in the year 2012. This number represents approximately 6.9% of all adults in the country.
- The estimated annual American cost of depression caused by lost productivity and health care is $80 billion.
- Women are 70% more likely than men to experience depression at some time in their lifetime.
- By the age of 18, 11% of adolescents have had at least one depressive disorder.
- Although results vary according to specific conditions, psychotherapy treatments for depression usually last some where between 10 and 20 weeks.
- Although results vary according to specific conditions, experts recommend that it can take four to six weeks of medication for antidepressants to take full effect.
Therapy Services Can Help Clients Around the World Deal with Depression
Although the previous statistics indicate the impact of depression in America, this is a condition that is a worldwide concern. In fact, 350 million people around the world suffer from some sort of depression. In many of these situations, therapy sessions might be able to help patients recognize and take control of their symptoms.
In a climate that seems uncertain and at many times scary, depression is a too common response that can lead to failed marriages, self harm, and addiction. When daily news stories indicate that the financial market is volatile, world travel is dangerous, and deadly viruses are pervasive, it is no wonder that many people find themselves concerned for the future. People who suffer from depression can find these current events even more concerning.
For many people, both in this country and around the world, the first step of dealing with problems as personal as marriage and as worldwide as terrorism is learning to recognize and treat difficult conditions like depression.
