Ask HN: Depressed and I want to start therapy, but struggling

I am a founder (in the UK) and suffering from mild depression (I believe) and have done so on and off for the last 2 years. The last few months have been particularly hard and I am considering therapy, but I am struggling to get started.

I spoke to my doctor about 6 months ago, who "diagnosed" the mild depression, and gave me a cd to listen to (I haven't), said do some more exercise and see how you go. Because it's "mild" it seems that free therapy on the NHS is not an option.

I would like to try therapy to see if it helps, but I have no idea where to start and the whole thing is quite daunting (not to mention expensive). My cofounder has recommended a therapist he has heard is very good, but I am having trouble evaluating things.

My biggest question is what kind of therapy is appropriate. The recommended therapist deals in "pyschodynamic and NLP techniques", which seems to be different to CBT which I have heard of, and I am sure there are more.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what kind of therapy is appropriate, and how to evaluate them? As always the google seems to just give me a bunch of "scientific" papers and lots of analysis by people selling stuff. Help!

If you would rather email me: dprssdctzn@gmail.com

Thanks.

NLP has its roots in Ericksonnian hypnotherapy, and can be good for thinking in new ways and a very effective tool for a therapist, but is clouded by the claims of so many new-age bullshit practitioners that it struggles to gain credibility, which is a shame.

CBT is good for mild disorders, but requires a lot of conscious effort to make work.

The difference is, CBT works by "overwriting" the thought processes that result in the depression by repetition of new behaviours and thoughts. It takes time, and works.

NLP / Hypnotherapy works by discovering what leads up to those thought processes (which, a lot of the time, is out of our conscious awareness) and changing that, so the depression never kicks in.

From personal experience, both work, and both don't, depending on the therapist, which studies you read, and how committed you are to making them work for you. However, it's much more important that you find a therapist that you can connect with personally and trust. If you have that, the exact modality of a therapy will result in pretty much the same outcome - some kind of turning point in your own thoughts and outlook which sets you on the mental path you wish to go down.

(source: I train NLP and Hypnosis, practise CBT, and have seen hundreds of clients.)

I think your first step should be counselling. If you try one and it doesn't 'click', try another. Counselling can be unbelievably helpful.

Someone said to me once that she thought everyone should see a counsellor once every few years. She meant it as a joke, but after sitting with a good counsellor once myself, I agree completely.

A good counsellor can help you put everything in perspective. One helped me out of an EPIC rut a few years back. Really: JUST DO IT.

plesae go and see a medical doctor first before you get mixed up in some strange unappropriate therapy that costs you an arm and a leg and enriches no one but the therapist. they will do some tests to rule out things like vitamin deficiencies or other things that may be causing these feelings. go to a medical doctor and tell them everything and let them decide whats best for you. it will be cheaper and youi will get where you want to go faster good luck

The best therapy for me personally is taking some time off. Just go some place where you can relax, leave your cellphone inside the safe of your hotel room and don't try to think about work.

There were times in my life when I thought I had it pretty good and felt pretty good. At that time we went on a vacation and there I noticed how stressed out I really was. So being stressed was 'normal' for me. Just don't go spiraling into a negative loop where you walk around thinking constantly about how depressed you really are. Try to focus on the positive things in your life (there are more than the negative ones, really).

If it's a light depression, my advice is to just get away from things for a while and come back refreshed.