Feeling Low or Depressed

What is low mood?

Everyone has experienced low mood in their lives, whether for a very short or a more sustained period of time.

Feeling low is a normal human emotion and can occur as a result of a number of factors. It can also be is a symptom of many health issues, both physical and mental.

Depression or depressive symptoms are normal responses to upsetting events, like a major life change or a loss. In these cases, it can be expected that one may feel slightly depressed at times.

However, when low mood is persistent or feels like the most common emotion felt by an individual that there may be an issue. The difficulty in identifying the root cause of an individual’s low mood often makes its treatment more challenging.

Common symptoms of low mood:

• Feeling sad or tearful
• Feeling bad about yourself
• Feelings of “emptiness”
• Feeling hopeless
• Little interest or pleasure in doing things (including those you once enjoyed)
• Retreating from others/ isolating yourself
• Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
• Changes in appetite (either more or less)
• Feeling agitated or irritated
• Difficulty concentrating
• Slowed speech or movement

Common causes of low mood:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Relationship issues
• Burnout (often low mood is a precursor to Burnout)
• Bereavement
• Upsetting event occurrence
• Lack of sleep or poor sleep quality
• Low self-esteem
• Chronic illness or pain

It is also quite possible to experience low mood with no obvious cause which can often come with feelings of distress as to why and how long a person will be feeling the way they do. It is important to remember that help is always available to help either identify the root cause of your low mood or help you find strategies to cope and overcome it.

How can low mood be treated?

CBT and its variations have historically been the most commonly used therapy to overcome feeling low or low mood and are the first-line treatment in the NHS. They aim to combat negative feelings about yourself, the world and the future and to enable someone experiencing low mood to regain hope that this will not be the case forever.

Through this cognitive retraining, one can alter their negative mindsets that maintain these feelings and create a more positive mindset and hopefully improving one’s mood.

CBT is just one form of intervention for low mood. In recent years, there are increasing amounts of evidence that other highly effective approaches can be used to tackle issues with feeling low. It is also the case that not everyone necessarily responds favourably to CBT.

Adopting a variety of approaches, as reflected in our experienced team, can be invaluable in being able to help as many people experiencing low mood as possible.

Persistent Low Mood

For some people, low mood can become more persistent or difficult to treat, often described as treatment-resistant depression. While this can understandably feel disheartening, it’s important to know that many people with these forms of depression do get better through alternative or combined approaches.

Emerging therapies, new medications, and personalised treatment plans including lifestyle changes, somatic therapies, and relational or integrative psychotherapy offer increasing avenues for hope. Recovery may take time, but it is absolutely possible, even after setbacks or previous treatment challenges.

Above all, evidence continues to suggest that the most consistent factor in recovery is the relationship with the therapy relationship, irrespective of the mode. More information on each clinician who is able to help in treating low mood can be found at the bottom of this page.