Many of my clients need help with Depression. Even when they initially ask for help with something else that's bothering them, some form of clinical Depression usually pops up, too. It's not their fault; it's just an illness, and the good news is that most types of Depression can be treated successfully. The most effective approach is twofold: (1) get and use a medical prescription, and (2) engage in regularly scheduled talk therapy. You need to do both simultaneously. Here's a good description of clinical Depression:

"A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away. People with a depressive illness cannot merely pull themselves together and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people who suffer from depression."

Major Depression is especially serious, as the name suggests. Depression at this level of magnitude doesn't happen often, possibly only once or twice in a lifetime. But if and when it hits, you find that it feels truly awful; you need to seek professional help quickly. It's debilitating: sometimes you can hardly force yourself out of bed in the morning. Symptoms persist most of the day, nearly every day, for at least 2 weeks. You experience changes in appetite and sleep habits, difficulty in thinking or making decisions, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, loss of interest in things that ordinarily do interest you, and recurrent thoughts about death. You feel dreadfully sad, hopeless, discouraged. Please don't try to brazen it out alone. Get help.

Dysthymia is less debilitating, but it can persist for years. It takes the fun out of life, and it interferes with your best functioning. Some well-meaning friends will tell you that you've just got to pull yourself together and wait it out. Don't listen to them. You're not just irritable and underperforming: you're depressed. It's a real problem. So come get professional support to help you wrestle with it.
Both women and men suffer from Depression. Men seem slower to recognize it in themselves and more reluctant to ask for help. Don't wait; monitor your moods and if/when you're depressed, make a professional appointment for help. That's what I'm here for: to help you.

My Adult Counseling Services office serves both sides of the Potomac River.  The office is located in Alexandria, and convenient to Arlington, Fairfax County, Annandale, Falls Church, Parts of Prince George's County, and the District of Columbia.  For directions to our office.