What Depression Might Be Trying to Say

When depression hits, it is often seen as a negative sticky bubble gum that has you feeling like a big ball of mess-heavy, stagnant, inactive, and much more.

While unpleasant to experience, what if we pause and ask ourselves, “what is my body trying to communicate IN a state of depression?”

Depression is not the body’s failure. It is a delicate signal to our body that says, “it is time to slow down, conserve energy, and recede” to restore balance and structure following a traumatic event. This is what our bodies are wired to do when it has been living in survival mode for too long.

When our nervous system develops in environments of stress, instability, or danger, our body does not just “get through it,” it adapts to it. In complex trauma, the body lives in high activation that may not be visible but felt on a physiological level. Therefore, the body remains alert, tense, defensive, and restless. This can easily cause our bodies to feel stuck, reflecting the feeling of numbness, low motivation, disconnection, and/or exhaustion. This is where depression appears like a forced collapse into slowing down. What is beneath all of the symptoms? Protection.

Since childhood, our bodies have always adapted to its environment. At the same time, it also has built-in restorative abilities that try to move toward a place of balance even in ways that may seem paradoxical. However, our body needs support and guidance in order to activate those restorative qualities. This begins by creating small steps of stability and felt safety. How do we do that, you might wonder? Through slowly processing our mind and body’s response to what is behind the numbness, and creating a safe space to allow emotions to unfold.

This reorganizes time around your conditions of healing over conditions of trauma. It is not a linear process, nor does it happen overnight, but it is not impossible. At some point, our bodies need a break to rest and reset. It is important to notice, reflect, challenge, and guide our mind and body during this time. Remember, the same body that adapted to trauma is the same body that is capable of adapting to healing.

Reach out to us at The Conative Group if you think you are experiencing depression. We will help connect you with a therapist who is the right fit for you!