When nothing feels
like anything
anymore.
Online therapy for depression, low mood, loss of interest, hopelessness and helplessness — with a psychologist who will not tell you to just be more grateful.
Reach out and I send the forms · care@anaitaarthurveigas.com
I am not going to tell you to be more grateful.
I am also not going to sit with you in the dark and call it comfort.
I will be direct about what is happening. And I will be compassionate with your whole self. Both. Always both.
“Therapy with me is not sugarcoating things. Therapy with me is being direct about what’s happening and yet being compassionate with your whole self.”Anaita Arthur Veigas
Depression is not sadness.
It is the absence of feeling.
People expect depression to look like crying. Sometimes it does. But more often — especially for the people I work with — it looks like going through the motions. Like ticking the boxes while the inside has gone very quiet.
The flat feeling that follows you from one room to the next. The things that used to matter — the work, the relationships, the projects you once cared about — now feeling like obligations you are too tired to explain your way out of.
And underneath all of it: the quiet, persistent sense that this is just how things are now. That the future looks exactly like the present — and you cannot find a reason to believe it will change.
This is not laziness. Not ingratitude. Not a character flaw you need to think your way out of. This is depression — and it responds to real, sustained therapeutic work.
The things that used to matter
The creative work. The friendships. The hobby that once felt like breathing. Not gone — just out of reach, behind glass. You can see them. You cannot feel them.
The future that doesn't move
Not a fear that things will get worse. Something quieter — the sense that they simply won't get better. That this is the ceiling. That trying is a form of delusion you cannot quite manage to maintain.
Nothing I do makes a difference
You have tried. The routines, the productivity, the exercise, the gratitude lists. And nothing has shifted the underlying thing. The trying itself has become exhausting. And then there is the guilt about the trying.
Fine on the outside
This is perhaps the loneliest version. Going through the motions impeccably. Doing the work, showing up, even laughing in the right places. While privately carrying something no one around you would guess at.
Not bypassing the darkness.
Moving through it with company.
Therapy for depression is not about persuading you to feel better before you are ready. It is about creating the conditions in which feeling becomes possible again — and working with what is underneath it, not just what is on the surface.
Depression almost always has a function. Sometimes it is protecting you from something you are not yet ready to feel. Sometimes it is an old nervous system response to an environment that no longer exists. We find what that is — gently, without rushing past it.
Depression is not only a thought — it is a physical weight. The heaviness in the chest, the slowness, the body that does not want to move. Somatic tools help shift the physical experience of depression, not just the narrative around it.
Depression generates its own evidence. It selects, interprets, and confirms itself. CBT and ACT work with these patterns — not by forcing positive thinking, but by building a less automatic relationship with the thoughts that keep the loop running.
For many people, depression has older origins — loss, grief, childhood environments, patterns of relating to the self that were set long before the current episode. Inner child and trauma-informed work addresses this layer, which is often where the most important movement happens.
What I use.
And why it is not one-size-fits-all.
Depression has different shapes and different roots. I draw from multiple frameworks and integrate what actually fits your specific experience.
Thought Patterns
The cognitive distortions that depression generates and sustains. Building the capacity to see them — not to override them with positivity, but to loosen their grip.
Defusion & Values
Changing your relationship to difficult thoughts and feelings without having to make them go away first. Moving toward what matters even in the presence of the flat feeling.
The Original Wound
Where the helplessness first learned to live. Where the self-worth first got conditional. Working here is some of the deepest and most durable therapeutic work I do.
The Body's Weight
Depression lives in the body — the heaviness, the flatness, the withdrawal. Body-based tools shift the physical holding before the mind can follow.
When It Has Roots
Depression that began in loss, neglect, or environments that were not safe. Working with the nervous system pattern rather than only the current symptoms.
The Research
My doctoral work is in this area. Self-compassion is not self-indulgence — it is one of the most clinically evidenced interventions for depression and its co-occurring guilt.
If it feels like you are alone in it,
the numbers say otherwise.
Indians lived with a depressive disorder in 2017. The flatness, the loss of interest, the heaviness: you are far from the only one.
Source: Lancet Psychiatry · India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative (2019)The share of people with a mental disorder in India who go untreated, depending on the condition. Above 60% for every condition except epilepsy.
Source: National Mental Health Survey 2015–16 · NIMHANS“The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality.”Andrew Solomon, TED, 2013
Therapy is not adding water
to a full glass.
“When we fill a glass with water, there is no space for more unless you empty it. So therapy with me will be around emptying yourself first and then filling yourself consciously. You cannot first look at why you allowed the glass to be full with water that was not consciously poured by you... and add more good water using some tools and techniques. Eventually, you wear out.”Anaita Arthur Veigas
That is the line between quick tools and deep work. Tools are useful. But tools poured into a full glass just overflow, and eventually you wear out. We empty first: the beliefs, the patterns, the generational conditioning you never consciously chose. Then you fill yourself on purpose.
How we actually work.
No chaos.
This is not a casual drop-in clinic where you show up whenever you feel overwhelmed. Rebuilding your internal reality takes a structured container. Here is the exact process, step by step.
Reaching out & baseline realityThe Initiation
You reach out. If we are a potential fit, I send you the informed consent form and the baseline assessment form straight away. I need to know exactly what is in your glass before we begin emptying it.
Exploratory vs. the packageThe Commitment
Two choices. Book a single exploratory session to test whether you are ready for this level of truth, or step up and commit to a weekly package, which starts at 12 sessions. Packages are paid through Razorpay by weekly auto-debit. Single sessions and lowered-rate sessions are strictly subject to availability, because my schedule prioritises clients committed to the weekly container.
Time, date & pre-workThe Preparation
We lock in a time and date. Before we speak, you complete the pre-session form. You do not show up unprepared. You bring your reality to the table so we do not waste a single minute.
Showing upThe Session
You show up. We do not sugarcoat; we get to the truth. We balance mind, body, spirit and emotions, addressing what is actually happening with radical directness and absolute compassion.
Scheduling & feedbackThe Accountability
Before the session closes, we schedule the exact date of the next one. Therapy with me is like breathing. Therapy with me is like eating. It happens consistently. After every session you submit a feedback rating, so I can track your evolution and keep us focused on your growth.
Doing the heavy liftingThe Integration
You do not leave the work in the room. Between sessions you practise, you reflect on your notes, and you apply what we uncover to your financial, personal and social life.
Rinse and repeatThe Continuation
You show up for the next one. We keep going. We keep emptying the glass, pulling out the conditioning you never chose, and refilling you consciously until your foundation holds.
Two ways in.
One standard.
A single exploratory session lets you test the depth of the work. The package is where the work actually happens. Either way, you reach out first and I send the forms. Every session is 50 minutes.
USD 180 for international clients
- One session to experience the depth of the work
- Find out whether you are ready for this level of truth
- If it resonates, you commit to a package
- Strictly subject to availability
Weekly auto-debit through Razorpay: 12 × INR 5,000
International: USD 180 × 12 sessions (USD 2,160), by card in USD
- Exactly one session every week
- Consent, baseline and pre-session forms included
- Feedback and progress tracking after every session
- No drop-ins. No exceptions.
How payment works
- Exploratory session: one secure Razorpay payment link, sent after we confirm fit.
- 12-session package: you authorise a weekly auto-debit once through Razorpay (UPI AutoPay or card): 12 debits of INR 5,000, one per session week. Your bank sends a pre-debit notification before each debit, as RBI rules require.
- International clients: pay by card in USD through Razorpay: USD 180 per weekly session, 12 sessions (USD 2,160).
- Cancellation, rescheduling and refunds: see my policy.
Lowered rate (INR 3,750 / USD 135 per session): occasionally available, strictly subject to availability, and only for clients committing to a package. It is not a standing option. Email to check availability.
This is for you if…
- You are ready for a steady weekly rhythm
- You want honesty and compassion together
- You will bring what comes up between sessions to the work
This is not for you if…
- You are looking for a quick fix
- You want drop-in or crisis support (I am not a crisis service; helplines are below)
I am fiercely protective of my time and energy, and I take growth seriously. I do not promise outcomes; I promise honesty, rigour and a container that holds.
Not a crisis service. If you are in crisis, please contact Vandrevala Foundation +91 9999 666 555 (24/7, free) or iCall 9152987821 (Mon–Sat). Outside India: findahelpline.com.
The work does not stay in the room.
Neither should the practice.
Step six of the container is integration: you practise, you reflect, you apply. The 7-Minute Mind Journal is the tool I built for exactly that. India’s first mind-body integrated self-care journal. Seven minutes a day. One clear next step. No blank pages.
- A 62-day structured system for mind, body, emotions and behaviour
- 243-page hardcover, 6×9 inches, 120 GSM paper that does not bleed
- Written by a licensed psychologist (India), for beginners and advanced journalers alike
A daily practice, not a replacement for therapy. When you are ready for the full weekly container, the package above is where the deeper work happens.
Someone who understands depression
as more than a symptom checklist.
I am Anaita Arthur Veigas — psychologist, trauma-informed therapist, and PhD Scholar in self-compassion and mindfulness. Mumbai-based. Online worldwide. Seven years of clinical work, over 3,000 conversations.
My doctoral research is in self-compassion — which is directly relevant to depression, because the relationship people have with their own suffering often determines whether they recover or continue to spiral. I bring that research into the room.
I do not rush people through their darkness. I also do not let them stay there indefinitely when there is movement available. Therapy with me is warm, direct, and goes beneath the surface — because that is where the actual change lives.
Questions people ask
from the flat place.
The exploratory session is INR 5,000 (USD 180 for international clients), 50 minutes. The starting package is 12 weekly sessions at INR 5,000 per session (INR 60,000), paid through Razorpay by weekly auto-debit (12 × INR 5,000). International clients: USD 180 per session across 12 sessions (USD 2,160), paid by card in USD through Razorpay. A lowered rate (INR 3,750 / USD 135) is occasionally available, strictly subject to availability: email care@anaitaarthurveigas.com to check.
You reach out by email at care@anaitaarthurveigas.com. If we are a potential fit, I send you the informed consent form and the baseline assessment form straight away. Once you commit, I send a secure Razorpay link for payment, we lock in a time, you complete a short pre-session form, and we begin. Nothing is casual and nothing is wasted.
A single exploratory session is available, subject to availability, at INR 5,000 (USD 180 for international clients) so you can experience the depth of the work. Beyond that, the work happens in a weekly package of 12 sessions at INR 5,000 per session. This is not a drop-in clinic. If you are in crisis right now, please contact Vandrevala Foundation +91 9999 666 555 (24/7) or iCall 9152987821 (Mon–Sat).
Yes, completely. Needing energy to seek help for the thing that has taken your energy is one of depression’s cruelest features. Starting takes one email. I send the forms and we take it from there. The work is weekly and structured, and that structure is exactly what helps when your energy is gone: you do not have to decide every week whether to show up.
No. There is no threshold of suffering you need to meet before you deserve support. High-functioning depression is real — and it is often the most unaddressed form precisely because the external markers look fine. If the inside doesn't match the outside, that gap is worth working with.
A good friend listens. A therapist listens and then works with what they hear — identifying the pattern, tracking it across sessions, noticing what you cannot see from inside it, and using clinical tools to help you move. Therapy also offers something a friendship structurally cannot: unconditional, non-reciprocal attention. You do not have to manage my feelings about what you are sharing.
Yes — and research consistently shows the combination is more effective than either alone for moderate to severe depression. I am not a psychiatrist and do not manage medication, but I work alongside it frequently. Please let me know if you are on medication so I can account for it in how we work.
Most people notice a shift in awareness and some lightening within 6–8 sessions. Deeper change — the kind where the hopelessness genuinely loosens — takes longer, often months of consistent work. I am always honest about where you are in the process. We track this together, and I never pretend progress is happening when it isn't.
If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please contact a crisis line immediately — Vandrevala Foundation: +91 9999 666 555 (24/7, free) or iCall: 9152987821 (Mon–Sat). Therapy is sustained work, not crisis intervention. Please reach out to these services first. Once you are stable, email me and we will begin.
You don't have to
keep carrying this alone.
One email. That is all starting requires. You do not need to explain everything. You do not need to be ready. You just need to send it.
care@anaitaarthurveigas.com · Reach out and I send the forms · Online worldwide