Depression Treatment
(Singapore and Online)

Living with depression can be an incredibly difficult and often isolating experience. Depression counseling can help you to overcome the debilitating symptoms of this medical condition, and regain your happiness and your passion for life.

What is Depression?

Depression is is one of the most common mental health conditions affecting people in Singapore and around the world. It is classified as a mood disorder, meaning that it has a negative effect on your emotional state.

Although most of us have experienced periods where we feel sad or down, these feelings are usually fleeting and not as severe or long-lasting as the bleak emotions that characterize depression.

People with depression often report persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, lethargy, guilt, and shame. In severe cases, those with major depression may experience suicidal ideation or the urge to self-harm.

Depression is not a personality flaw or a sign of weakness. It has profound impacts on your body and your brain, and is not simply a period of moodiness that you can "get over" through sheer force of will. Untreated depression can last for months or even years, doing tremendous damage to your physical health, mental well-being, and personal relationships.

If you think you are experiencing depression, it's important to seek professional treatment without delay. Although depression may feel like a "forever" medical condition when you have it, many people make full recoveries.

Counseling Perspective offers depression counselling for adults, teens, and children. Visit our Therapists page to learn more about our team of psychologists and counsellors, and find the right therapist for you.

To make an appointment,
call/WhatsApp +65 9636 8060, email drglenn@counselingperspective.com, or book online to get instant confirmation.

The symptoms of depression vary from person to person, and whether they are experiencing mild or severe depression. Often, depression manifests in both emotional and physical ways.

Emotional Depression Symptoms

• Low mood. Regularly feeling low emotions such as sadness, hopelessness, bitterness, pessimism, self-loathing, and in severe cases, a desire to self-harm. If this last symptom applies to you, please reach out to us or to a suicide prevention hotline immediately.

• Anxiousness. Often feeling anxious or worrying about things you cannot control. These emotions can fall under the umbrella of depression symptoms, however, it's not uncommon for depressed people to concurrently have an anxiety disorder.

• Irritability. Frequently feeling annoyed or having angry outbursts, including over things that normally wouldn't bother you. Irritability and mood swings are more likely to affect men than women.

• Difficulty concentrating. Finding it unusually hard to focus on day-to-day tasks, even if they are important or if you used to find them easy to do.

• Apathy. Experiencing an ongoing loss of interest in your passions, hobbies, and other activities that you used to enjoy.

Physical Depression Symptoms

• Sleep problems. Suffering from insomnia, early morning awakening, oversleeping, difficulty waking up, and other complications around sleep.

• Weight changes. Experiencing significant weight loss or weight gain, whether or not you notice any changes in your appetite or food intake.

• Chronic fatigue. Always feeling tired, even when you've had enough rest.

• Chronic pain. Feeling persistent discomfort in your muscles, joints, chest, stomach, or digestive tract can be a sign of depression.

• Physical illnesses. Often getting sick, or finding it difficult to recover from illnesses or injuries. Depression can also increase your risk for developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

If you have been experiencing any of the above symptoms for more than two weeks, please reach out to a mental health professional.

Is it after office hours and you need help urgently? Contact Singapore's 24-hour national suicide prevention lifeline by dialing 1-767.

Depression often doesn't have a single cause. There are several potential risk factors that might lead to someone developing depression.

• Genetics. There may be a genetic component to depression. You're at higher risk of developing depression if someone in your immediate family has had the condition.

• Traumatic events. Traumatic or stressful events, such as a divorce, the death of a loved one, or the loss of a job, can sometimes be a cause of depression.

• Other medical conditions. Certain medical conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, can increase your chances of developing depression.

• Age and gender. Older people are at higher risk of depression, which may be connected to a lack of social interaction and support. Women are twice as likely to become depressed as men.

There used to be a popular school of thought around depression being caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, but this theory is not well supported by current research. While depression can alter your brain chemistry, it's more likely that the chemical imbalance is an effect of depression, rather than a cause.

Major Depressive Disorder

Major Depressive Disorder, often called major depression or clinical depression, is the most severe form of depressive disorder. It is also referred to as severe depression, as it can have severe impacts on your physical and mental health. Someone suffering from clinical depression is at high risk of serious depressive symptoms, such as extreme levels of sadness, and thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

Persistent Depressive Disorder

Persistent Depressive Disorder, also called dysthymia, is a type of ongoing moderate depression. Though it doesn't come with the severe depressive symptoms of major depression, it does last for a longer period of time (at least two years). Someone with Persistent Depressive Disorder may be able to get by in their day to day life, but silently struggle with negative feelings, low self-worth, and a lack of purpose or motivation.

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar Disorder is a mental illness characterised by severe mood swings. Bipolar depression is different from unipolar depression. Someone with Bipolar Disorder may experience a depressive episode with typical depression symptoms, which is then followed by a manic episode marked by elevated energy, confidence, irritability, and risk-taking activity. These periods of alternating depression and mania can each last for months at a time.

Postpartum Depression

Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a serious mental health condition that can affect women after giving birth. Common symptoms include feelings of sadness, hopelessness, exhaustion, isolation, worry, regret, and guilt or failure over not feeling a strong mother-infant bond. In severe cases, a new mother experiencing postpartum mental health complications may be unable to function well enough to care for herself or her baby.

Treating depression is not as straightforward as treating some other types of medical illnesses. Not every depressed person requires the same type of depression treatment. As a trained mental health professional, your therapist will assess your symptoms and what may be causing them, and recommend the most suitable depression treatments for you.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the most common depression treatment options. A type of psychotherapy (talk therapy), CBT focuses on identifying and changing negative thinking patterns, which in turn result in more positive and helpful thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It is a well-researched psychological approach with a strong success rate at curing clinical depression.  Learn more >

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an interpersonal therapy that reprocesses distressing thoughts, which in turn removes the negative feelings that were once associated with them. EMDR was developed to relieve symptoms of PTSD, and is now also known as a highly effective approach to both treat and prevent depression.  Learn more >

Mindfulness-based Therapies

Mindfulness-based therapies (MBTs) offer a holistic treatment approach that targets both the emotional and physical aspects of depression. Studies show that MBTs can reduce mood instability, fatigue, body pains, and other common depressive symptoms. Popular mindfulness approaches include guided meditation and visualization, breathing and relaxation exercises, and yoga therapy.

Antidepressant medication

Antidepressant medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) can help to ease depression symptoms. However, because SSRIs can come with unpleasant side effects, we generally don't recommend them as a long-term solution. A short-term course of prescription drugs can provide quick relief, while therapy works to overcome depression from its source.

Alternative medicine

Sometimes, alternative medicine can be an appropriate treatment for mental health conditions like depression. However, be careful because some herbal supplements can alter your brain chemistry, stop birth control pills from working, or interfere with other medications you may be taking. Check with your primary care doctor before you begin taking any supplements as a way to treat depression.

Further reading:

What is Depression? - American Psychiatric Association

Causes of Depression - WebMD

Depression - Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

Find a Counselling Centre Near You

We have five convenient locations where you can attend depression counselling in Singapore.

Counseling Perspective at Raffles Place

9 Raffles Place

#17-25 Republic Plaza II

Singapore 048619

Counseling Perspective at Oasis

87 Science Park Drive

#03-01 The Oasis

Singapore 118260

Counseling Perspective at Dempsey

27A Loewen Road

Singapore 248839

Counseling Perspective at Katong

12 East Coast Road

#03-01 i12 Katong

Singapore 428802

Counseling Perspective at Sentosa

1 Larkhill Road

Sentosa Island

Singapore 099394

We also offer online counselling for depression. Singapore resident and internationally based clients are welcome to attend virtual therapy sessions from home via Skype, Zoom, or other preferred video conferencing platform.

To make an appointment,

Call/WhatsApp us on +65 9853-7253, email us at admin@counselingperspective.com, or book online to get instant confirmation.