Depressed?
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Depressed?
| Wed, 04-07-2004 - 3:28pm |
I'm 17 years old and the last two years I've gone to a psychologist for some counseling which my parents highly suggested. I'm a fairly normal adolescent...I get good grades, I play sports, I go to parties, etc. When I was feeling depressed, my psychologist just said I put too much pressure on myself to do well and I needed to take a break from it all...yet sports and going out were the things I loved. After answering some questions, he decided couldn't be classified as manic depressive or be a candidate for an antidepressent like Zoloft (I know a lot about it because my sister is on it). So I just dismissed it and stopped seeing him for awhile. Things continued to get worse...I have many health conditions which just add to my distressed state and I missed a lot of school this year due to those health problems. When I go back into school after missing 2 or 3 days, people are often cruel to me and make fun of me saying I "skip school" or "never come to school," both which are not true. Even some of my closest friends have turned on me, offering little sympathy and support and making me feel ten times worse. They think I want to be sick and enjoy missing school. Since then, my grades have dropped and I've become more depressed...oftentimes when I miss school because I have a doctors appointment/I really am sick, I miss a day or two after...purely because I don't want to go back and face what everyone has to say. My teachers, although my mother has told them about my various medical conditions, often make rude comments about my absences in class in front of other students, and that just hurts. I don't really know what I'm writing this, maybe I'm just hoping someone can make me feel better/give advice...since my family thinks my problem is "all in my head" and they tell me constantly if I just "keep my chin up" it will all go away. I don't know whether its depression or not...I oftentimes have periods of very happy and excited moods, but when I'm angry or sad...it is severe and I don't want to talk to anybody. I'm more depressed than I ever have been before and I just don't feel like getting up each day to face more criticism on an issue I cannot control.
Thank you for reading this very long post.

Maybe the illness is causing your depression. That can cause a lot of stress in itself, as it interferes with the rest of your life.
Would you like to try going to a counsellor or therapist again? Stick to your true friends anyway, because the ones who turned on you are obviously not good friends and arent worth your time anyway.
You only have a year or two to go before you get to leave high school, so you will enter a different world in which people should accept you more for who you are and only care about how you are doing instead. This board is good therapy, so keep posting and let us know how you are doing. If you have a bad day, just writing in here can help you bundles. I hope everything works out really well and HUGS to you :)
I was just like you when I was your age!
I could run 15 miles in cross country & get straight A's. But, I was chronically fatigued, depressed & full of anxiety. It took me 35 years to find this book : "depression free, naturally" on amazon. Author is Dr Larson. It worked for me.
Linda
weaverll@yahoo.com
Idreamy- Thank you for responding. Your post made me feel a whole lot better. Thanks for welcoming me to the board, I will make sure to post in here if I have a bad day. It helps to talk to people who are older than me and more knowledgable...without being critical or judging me (like my parents or teachers).
Linda- Thanks for replying...it felt good to read your post and realize I wasn't alone. I read about a lot of young people who have the same problem as me, but I sometimes can't relate and just think that depression is overlooked and dismissed quite frequently. I'll look into that book...thank you!!
~Ashley~
Welcome, ((((Ashgirl154))))!