Does this sound familiar? You used to love strolling through historical downtown, taking kayaking or paddleboard trips down the river, and learning about new things at a museum or library.
Lately, though, you don’t even have the energy to get out of bed. Nothing sounds fun anymore, and if you’re not working, you’re lying in bed scrolling, watching TV, or doing nothing.
“Bed rotting” is a new term to describe what depressed people have been dealing with for ages: the lack of joy or interest combined with a deep fatigue and lack of motivation that makes lying in bed feel like the only thing you have energy to do.
When depression is severe enough that you feel like you can’t get out of bed, treatment is warranted. Fortunately, treatment for depression is effective, and our Toms River depression therapists can help.
When you have severe depression, it can be hard to get out of bed. Let us come to you with our virtual therapy, or challenge yourself to see one of our in-person Toms River depression therapists.
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Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Meredith Wymer is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner providing medication management across the lifespan. In addition to her current work in the outpatient mental health se...
LCSW
You don’t have to face life’s challenges alone. Aimee is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 20 years of experience helping adults find calm, clarity, and confidence through times of stre...
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LCSW
Gina is a licensed clinical social worker with an MSW from Columbia University School of Social Work. Her practice fosters the idea that all individuals have the ability to heal the self through res...
LCSW
Andrew has been a therapist for nearly two decades, specializing in family counseling and individual counseling across all ages. After graduating from New York University in 2008, he began his clini...
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Supervisee in Social Work
BriannaLee is a plant-based wife, mom, and clinician committed to cultivating a life rooted in peace, purpose, and personal growth. She views therapy as a powerful tool for healing and transformation,...
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Counseling Psychologist
Susan believes that much of life is about facing challenges with the right support. As a psychologist, she views her role as helping individuals navigate emotional and psychological difficulties while...
Bedrotting feeds into the toxic cycle of self-blame, shame, and harmful behavior that depression can create. This shame cycle looks like:
Depression starts to hit, and you begin to feel tired, burnt out, and experience brain fog. Everything feels harder than it should be, so you retreat to your room for a quick break.
Therapy for Severe Depression
A quick break turns into a few hours of scrolling on your phone. The fatigue hasn’t left you either, and now you feel like you can’t get up.
Therapy for Severe Depression
You blame yourself for getting into this situation. “Just try harder!” You might think, “Stop being lazy.” These are common cognitive distortions (harmful thinking patterns) that depression can bring. They aren’t the truth, but in the middle of depression, it sure can feel like it.
Therapy for Severe Depression
Blame turns into shame, which begins to solidify into your sense of self. “I’m being lazy right now” turns into “I’m lazy”, and “This is a waste of time” becomes “I’m a waste of space.” These thoughts are dangerous and can lead to more harmful behaviors and thinking patterns down the road.
Therapy for Severe Depression
The shame makes it hard to face yourself, so you turn further inward into dissociation and bedrotting. You stop talking to friends and stop taking care of yourself. These behaviors make the self-blame and shame worse, which in turn makes the symptoms worse. The toxic loop of depression has begun, but there is hope to break out of it.
Therapy for Severe Depression
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for High-Functioning Depression
CBT is considered the gold standard for treating depression. Our Toms River therapists have used CBT to help many clients identify and deconstruct shame spirals that lead to bed rotting. CBT is also useful for building self-esteem and addressing core beliefs that could be contributing to depression.
Therapy for Severe Depression
Mindfulness to Combat Depression
Mindfulness-based therapy has been proven highly effective at treating depression, even severe depression. Mindfulness isn’t just meditation; it’s about bringing your awareness to the present moment and to yourself. Coping mechanisms taught through this therapy can help you find the motivation you need to get out of bed and start living brighter.
Therapy for Severe Depression
Living By Your Values
ACT therapy is about choosing to act based on our values and not our knee-jerk emotional response. For example, if you strongly value community and a friend asks you to hang out, ACT will help you live according to your values instead of your initial desire to stay in bed.
Part of ACT is accepting that this won’t always be easy, and that sometimes we might fail. Instead of internalizing these failures to live by our values, ACT teaches us to accept and move forward to the next opportunity. It focuses on personal forgiveness and growth.
Therapy for Severe Depression
Therapy for Severe Depression
If you are spending hours in bed and feel unable to get up, you might have severe depression. In this case, DBT is a good treatment option for you. DBT can help people with self-harming behaviors, severe withdrawal and isolation behavior, and negative self-esteem. Talk to a Toms River depression therapist about how DBT can help you.
Therapy for Severe Depression
We've created a safe space for you to explore your mental health and find what works for you.
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Scheduling is easy! Simply choose a therapist from our extensive therapist directory. Fill out the quick form, and we’ll get in touch to confirm your appointment.
If you don’t feel like choosing a therapist, give us a call, and we’ll match you with an Ocean County therapist that fits your needs.
Lifebulb Counseling & Therapy adheres to all HIPAA policies. This means your personal information will be protected throughout every step of the process: from requesting a session, to your first appointment, all the way to when you decide to stop therapy.
Lifebulb was built on the core belief that good therapists provide good therapy, and that in order for a therapist to be good, they need to feel supported. We prioritize our therapists’ wellness so that they can give you their full attention. No burnout, no counting the minutes till the end of the session, no racing to meet quotas, no wasting time wrestling with insurance panels.
The result? More time, more energy, and more joy they get to put towards what they do best: helping you!
Online anxiety therapy sessions use HIPAA-compliant video software that is 100% secure. We never record sessions and will never ask you to jump on a video call that is not HIPAA compliant. Our therapists also always take video sessions from a private and secure place. There’s no risk of anyone overhearing you.
Yes! Lifebulb prides itself on being HIPAA compliant and making client privacy a top priority. Have questions or concerns about our privacy policy? You can email us at privacy@lifebulb.com
