"I can't seem to shake this off..."

Depression is, particularly in today's world, one of those things in life that most everybody experiences at some point or another.  It can be situational, meaning that it is stemming from the result of something that is happening or has happened in life, or it can be biochemical, beginning in our bodies, or it can be one of the results of chronic stress or trauma.  Either way, it can be very difficult to manage.  Some of us experience short bouts of depression, some have years of sustained depression.  Depression's effects often touch on many areas of our lives, including changes in our sleep patterns (sleeping more or less than usual), altered eating habits (eating more or less than usual), distancing ourselves from others, finding ourselves less motivated, and more.

"I don't want to feel so heavy." 

Sometimes with depression, we don't even realize how down we've been until we get some sort of reminder of how things were before, catch a glimmer of how we want them to be, or when someone reflects their concerns to us.  Sometimes we don't realize how long it's been since we've seen our family or friends, or how long it's been since we have truly enjoyed something we used to love, or, sometimes, how long it's been since we've showered or cared for our bodies regularly.  The other piece about depression that is so difficult is that, generally speaking, we know the things we can do to help us feel better...but the heaviness of depression depletes us of the mental, physical, and emotional energy to engage in those things.  Finding the root cause(s) of the depression and creating a plan that feels doable to manage and reduce it is generally an accessible place to begin.