Depression and unhappiness can be a response to life experiences or events over which you feel you have no control.  Such episodes may feel intense and last for a relatively short period.  In other cases, depression may be mild but persist for a long time and even years.  Although there is no one way of experiencing depression, a person is likely to be experiencing a range of symptoms which may include a sense of isolation, lack of motivation, emotionality (tearfulness... agitation...), sleeplessness (early waking...), change in appetite and other symptoms which may encourage a sense of hopelessness that things will ever feel better again.  Therapy can often provide an important first step towards reducing that sense of isolation. Your therapist will help you to explore and gain insight on the underlying causes of your low mood and depressed feelings.  Over time, you will be helped to identify unhelpful patterns of thinking which are maintaining the low mood and will encourage the development of helpful strategies and techniques which will help to increase your emotional well-being.