I'm 17 years old. I've been doing research lately on depression because I experience many of the symptoms associated with it and they have been taking a severe toll on life for years now, my school work and my home life are suffering immensely. I just can't sit down and do any work when I know I need to. I feel like I have to escape it and always put it off. I feel sad a lot of the time, lonely, undeserving, ugly. Some nights I get 2 hours of sleep sometimes I'll sleep all day, no matter what I'm always tired. It seems too often I cry myself to sleep. I used to wish I brave enough to end it all. These thoughts thankfully have not been present for about a year and there ARE times I still feel happy,I laugh with my friends,I like going out with my boyfriend. 3months ago I was diagnosed with mono, the symptoms are only getting worse. I don't know whether I'm going through the things that every teenager goes through and being over dramatic or there's really something wrong. Your thoughts?
Answer:
My heart goes out to you, because I've been in those shoes. Depression can be especially painful as a teenager when life, hormones, and sense of self are still all in the air. While many factors come into play, and your problems may be various, it sounds to me like you may be genuinely depressed. I'm not a doctor and the information you've described isn't enough for a diagnosis either, but my personal experience and trust that you're being truthful leads me to believe that you are in that dark place.
To answer your question though, yes, people with depression can definately be happy. Even in depression you may feel some rays of hope and happiness, but they are buried in the pain of day to day stresses. Depression can last for months at a time, or longer in the case of dysthymia (constant mild depression), but there are always times of normalcy. Even with dysthymic people or people with deep deep depressive episodes, treatment can bring you back to a state of comfort and even happiness. Don't be afraid to seek out help, and if you ever feel like you might be in danger of hurting yourself don't hesitate to seek emergency help, even if that means calling 911 if you feel like you might seriously hurt yourself. Psychological counselling can help you sort your problems out and ease your stresses and allow you to focus on the positives in life, and medication, while it should be carefully undertaken, can be a life saver, literally.
Antidepressants are often prescribed with little follow up, but in young people especially, they should be carefully regulated in the first month or two. The problem with antidepressants is that they blindly seek to adjust chemical levels in the brain that we don't yet have the sophistication to measure for what the best chemical adjustments should be made. So each antidepressant works slightly differently, one may work perfect for you, but not for me, and vice versa. If you do go on antidepressants, focus inward and keep track of your feelings, keep a journal to share with your doctors even. Again, as always, if you feel like you might hurt yourself, get immediate help.
That being said, antidepressants can be a greatly positive experience. Antidepressants will not make you happy, no, quite the opposite, most people feel that their happiest moments are a little diminished by antidepressants. HOWEVER, the right antidepressant can make all the difference in ridding yourself of those horrible lows that ruin your life. Prozac worked poorly for me, made me very confused and 'blah. Effexor has generally made me feel quite stable, getting rid of the lows without making me feel like a zombie. It's really a case by case issue, one that deserves better attention than any of us can give you. Take this stuff in mind and consider professional help. It's something a large number of people do, and an even larger number SHOULD do, so don't be hesitant or ashamed.
Mono makes you feel tired, sick, and depressed. I hope you have a light case of it--and not a really bad one.
People in their teens often feel sad or depressed, but often it is just due to changing bodies and hormones.
If people have clinical depression, or chronic depression, they definitely need counseling/therapy, and probably antidepressant meds. Most depressed people go on to live happy, normal lives--as long as they take their meds, and keep all scheduled appointments with doctors/therapists, etc.
Feel better soon (mentally and physically--the mono). :)
With proper treatment, most sufferers can lead a normal life. See suicidal thoughts and depression at http://www.ezy-build.net.nz/~shaneris... on pages 5 %26 2.
Please get help. Perhaps medication may help a great deal and I hate to see you suffer needlessly.
Your symptoms may be exaggerated by the mono. I know from my own experience that illness makes my natural depressive tendencies worse. I manage it well, after many years. IIt was particularly acute with the stresses of adolescence, and I wish I had not tried to be so brave and keep it hidden. I should have gotten help. Of course back then there wasn't the assortment of new medications that they have now.
You have a lot on your plate:
mono, hormones, relationships, schoolwork and stresses, homelife, emotions, physical lack of sleep, AND DEPRESSION.
Next time you go in to see your doc for the Mono, explain to him just what you have told us. He will likely see that you see a specialist or prescribe to you a medication to assist you through. Due to the length of time you have felt so low, you are very likely to be missing essencial chemicals to function.
Happiness in the moments is good.
Happiness spreading through your days and nights is best. and it IS POSSIBLE !!
The sleeping trouble is probbably a bigger sign of depression rather than just feeling low because its physical rather than emotional. There are a couple of things you need to remember about depression... its not that you just feel sad. There is an imbalance of chemicals in your brain which to some extent you cant control. There is a wonderful book called Taming the Black Dog. It helped me to understand my depression which was the main step in managing it. Depression is something that is with you for life, but it is not a life sentence. There is alot to understand. Do not feel ashamed to talk about it or to ask for help. It is important that if you are depressed someone else knows, so that if you are slipping into a depressive state someone else can help you recognise the signs before they over come you.
i had mono when i was 16. i've been clinically depressed since i was 11, and when i got mono it made me even worse. it will definitely make you more depressed because you'll feel tired and have no energy. i know exactly how you feel. it sucks being so down all the time, you feel like there's something wrong with you because you can't just feel "normal" and be happy. i've been on and off antidepressants for 11 years now, and i still wonder every single day if i'll ever feel normal happiness. i think what you're experiencing is more than just teenage drama. talk to your parents or a trusted adult and have them help you to find a good therapist. it's good to talk to someone who is unbiased and therapists hear stuff like this all of the time and will know how to hel you to deal with it. good luck! =o)
Depression is not a life long illness. Plenty of people go through periods of feeling down and a lot of people have at least one episode of major or clinical depression in their lifetime. Through therapy and possibly antidepressants, people who suffer from depression can get better and won't need to see a psychologist or take medication or be considered mentailly ill for the rest of their lives. Rarely to people experience chronic depression, but it does happen and some people do need to take antidepressants for years. Unfortunately a lot of people have started to believe that depression is a brain disorder instead of a psychological condition and ignore the importance of therapy in tackling and preventing depression. Because of this, many more people are starting to use antidepressants long term even though it's not needed.
As for your specific issues, I think mono, which can make you tired and depressed, along with being a teenager with the hormones and on the verge of adulthood is enough to make a lot of people feel somewhat depressed. It wouldn't be a bad thing to talk to someone about it and consider counselling.
Depression lasts forever unless u take medication. It's cause is a chemical imbalance in the brain which u can't control. U can go out dancing, excell in school, eat right, exercise and live clean and still be depressed. None of those things can help ease depression. Ur friends can't help either. Just the right medication. It took me several attempts to find the right meds for the depression I went through but I did and now I'm not depressed for 48 months. I get normal ups and downs but not the crushing mental anguish I felt for most of the life I lived.
I'm free now and u can be too. U have to experiment with different meds and quit taking them if there are side effects. Sometimes ur doctor will have to increase the dosage or change them again and again. It will be worth it when u find the right medication so u can go on with ur life. Good Luck!
Darling, this is something I wrote another with depression awhile back. I think there are things in it that answer your questions. Good Luck, Love! I truly understand depression! I really hope this helps.
.........
Depression
If you are looking for a quick fix for depression, I don't know if there is one without drugs鈥?but I truly understand the need. With ADD, remembering my medication was a real dilemma. Tired of the struggle, I read that people taking an active role in their recovery had a greater chance of healing, so I began a search. The solutions were not quick fixes. They take time and continued effort, but my depression has diminished greatly. I still have difficult times. But they don't linger anymore.
First, I examined my thinking. This turned out to be a multipart issue. First, I had to consider what I thought and listened to, i.e., what I fed my mind; music, movies, friends, books. Was the input positive or negative/productive or destructive? I used to listen to /watch the news, sad songs, dramas, and people with negative opinions. I quit watching the news, changed my music, watched more comedies, and started reading stories that inspire me! That helped greatly.
Next, I realized my thoughts were molded from birth, and forgave those who taught me (they were also taught). Blame is pointless; forgiveness, EVERYTHING. I discovered sometimes, we must remove ourselves from the negative stimulus, especially when people try drawing us back to old patterns. Change frightens them. It is scary because we become a different person. Sometimes friends and even family no longer play a part in our new life. I found myself grieving my change for awhile because I didn't seem to fit in anywhere. But it passed and I discovered new friends that inspired, rather than drained. Family can learn acceptance and may even change too, because you've set an example.
This next part is most important; the way I saw myself. I was in an abusive relationship, told many lies about who I was; pessimistic鈥?violent鈥?a bad mother鈥?After 20 years of this, I lost myself. I no longer knew who I was! My confidence was gone; shattered. I couldn't believe friends and family when they said I was a good person. All the good I'd done in my life was lost in a dismal haze. A book (I think it was How We choose To Be Happy) said if you want to know who you are, just look at your friends. Happy people don't hang out at the gloomy club. I realized I wasn't bad. I also discovered that if I didn't like something about myself, I could change it! Just because I didn't like something about myself didn't make me a bad person. It just made me human.
Then there were all my self-help books and meditation. Meditation took time and patience, but I found it really helped. Now I can get lost in it for hours. I also found spirituality. Another book said anything you ask God (or The Universe) is answered. All you have to do is learn to listen. Answers come from everywhere (books, songs, children, movies, sudden thoughts鈥?. I found this to be very true.
And I discovered that everything is made up of energy. I learned to release the negative energy and draw in the positive, literally. It has helped greatly. The combination of these things has helped me change my life, which seems to have inspired others to change their lives too because we are all connected and tough lives, even when we are unaware. I invite you to try any or all of these things. If you truly seek an answer, you WILL find your solution, Love. May you find what you are looking for. Good luck and may God bless.
Yes, I was majorly depressed and I was happy once in a while. You do sound like you have depression and you should get help.
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