Depression

[Kez-chan]

I've got some form of it too... I'm on tablets at the moment. I didn't want to take them. I tried everything: I tried sharing with friends, I tried professional counselling, I tried herbal remedies, I tried every damn thing under the sun and nothing would make it subside. I couldn't go on, in the end, so I was prescribed the tablets.

They helped. My emotions are on an even keel now. I don't cry every damn day for no reason, I don't feel like everything is pointless and there's no reason for me to keep going, I don't feel so scared that I think I might not be able to get up in the morning, and I can sleep at night - I could never sleep before because I was so wound up and anxious and my head was so full of thoughts that I couldn't even rest, never mind sleep - and I'm trying to get on with it now.

I swear I thought I'd never get better. So I'd just like to tell everyone that there is hope. I understand why people won't take tablets, because they were my absolute last resort, but I hope the people who still suffer from it find their own solutions. Good luck

[jupiter23]

Times when I felt I was crap, and when my Dad said I was crap too. *you wouldn't want a Dad like that. I even wonder how I can call him Dad u_u*

Anyone who called himself your father and then turned around and called you crap is not a father. Mine was also like this, and I haven't seen him since I was 13. I refused to let him take me down, though, and am much better off without him.

[peachvampiress]

Sailorasteroid

A friend of mine has manic depression, which is also called bipolar disorder. She'll have a couple of months being manic, and then switch to depression for a couple of months. When she's depressed, she doesn't want to do anything and is very pessemistic. She does get suicidal sometimes, and she lives alone, so I worry about her, but she does have a lot of friends and family.

When she gets manic, she'll want to do many things, but can't focus on any one thing for any length of time. She writes poetry and does artwork, things like that. I know of people who will throw themselves into work and hobbies to keep themselves manic and avoid depression.

My friend has been prescribed medicine, but says that if she takes it, she feels perpetually ill and weak. Since she would have to take it all her life, she prefers just to live with the manic depression.

Okay, never mind. I thought it was something else. Recently I noticed that when I have "one of my little moments" (which is me getting pissed of, hurting myself, wrecking stuff, running off etc...) it only lasts for about 10 minutes and then I'm over it. I think what I have is severe mood swings of something freaky like that. Oh well, it makes me interesting and cute

[Ni-ban Neko]

Dear everyone:

I'm about 2 weeks from getting my master's degree in psychology. As part of my MA, I did clinical assessment training, and I own a copy of the DSM-IV, which is the major reference psychiatrists and psychologists use for diagnosing people. I'll be quoting from the DSM throughout the rest of this post.

There are nine criteria listed in the DSM for a major depressive episode. If you exhibit five of the nine during a two-week period, you *might* qualify for diagnosis. Those nine criteria are:

1.) depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day. In adolescents and children, irritable mood applies.
2.) markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities through most of the day, nearly every day.
3.) a change of more than 5% in a month, or decrease or increase in appetite, nearly every day.
4.) insomnia or hypersomnia (sleeping too much) nearly every day
5.) psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (in other words, restlessness or sluggishness).
6.) fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day
7.) feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt, nearly every day
8.) diminished ability to concentrate or think, nearly every day
9.) recurrent thoughts of death/suicidal thoughts

After these are assessed, it's time to rule out other issues and doublecheck things.

The symptoms must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other functional areas.

The symptoms must not be attributable to a disease or the effects of a substance or medication.

The symptoms aren't better accounted for by something else - if they're better accounted for by something else, that's enough to rule out depression. That could be bereavement, it could be a stressful situation, or any number of things, including simply being a teen. Hormones can cause mood swings, and those don't count as major depression. In other words, teenage angst is not depression. Not that I don't sympathize with you, but it's the truth.

Okay. I've said my piece.

[Tiff]

The symptoms aren't better accounted for by something else. That could be bereavement, it could be a stressful situation, or any number of things, including simply being a teen. Hormones can cause mood swings, and those don't count as major depression. In other words, teenage angst is not depression. Not that I don't sympathize with you, but it's the truth.

I completely agree. Thank you, Ni-ban.

A lot of this just sounds like common teenage angst, stress, and depression., not diagnosable depression. Just about everyone at the age of about 13-17 goes through this, including myself. It's NORMAL, and can be treated with a simple change of attitude or lifestyle.

[kevin-sms]

ok iam well was depressed in the 6-7 1/2 grade ^_^
now im happy
well im more like bipolar!
>,<!!!
bye!

[DreamEmpress]

Been Chronically depressed since I was 3. My mom said she noticed the change in me around the time of the "incident" (see rape/molestation thread). She never quite knew what to do with me and with having a handicapped daughter to deal with, she didn't place too much time on this other than my initial couseling sessions that I had to go to when I was 6 or 7. No one found anything really wrong.

I was always the "fat" kid at school and was teased from early on. That didn't exactly help things. By the time I was in high school I was obsessed with trying to slim down. about the time I was 16 I snapped and often wished myself dead. However I was too scared to actually do it. The doom and gloom cloud was in my life so much that after a while I thought it was normal. When I was 19, I finally decided to seek professional help, but that didn't work. They put me on medication for a year and said I had "multiple personality disorder". That was a bunch of baloney. I got off that wagon and decided to chart my own course. Over time I started to actually learn to value my own worth and find better ways to deal with my emotions and problems.

Although to this day I still think most doctors are quacks.

[dragonofparadise]

Im deppressed and i have almost no self esteem sometimes it was really bad in elmentary school.When i entered middle school things improved for about year i was taking zoloft i stopped taking it because i felt i didnt need it.In middle school i became much more outgoing and more social just more happy than i was in elementary school. as i got into high school things became better. But im starting to sink low again i think its because of girls every girl i love just rejects me and they must want to do the most painful way as possible they ignore act they i dont exist almost like they hate what did i do didnt do anything. Its realy bad when you like a girl they have a boyfreind youve been freinds with that girls for 2 years and now they dont even care what happens to you and you don't know why. It just keeps going in a cycle a new girl i like a new let down. Heres my phrase love destructive thats all that loves been to me. by the way normaly im very shy all my freinds are telling me i need to be more outing which im working on.

[Sylphiel]

Hm. Sort of a touchy subject for me, I don't feel like revisiting it, but here goes.

I was diagnosed with depression late in high school. A ton of s**t was going down in my life at that point, and my psyche was a total mess. For almost a year, I had very minimal desire to eat, leave my bed, smile, do any activities, or be with other people. I would cry for hours or just sleep all day because there was completely nothing I wanted to do. My parents would force me out of bed, force me to school, cello practice, all those sorts of things.

I can honestly say it is the probably the worst feeling I've ever had to be completely apathetic about living for an extended period of time. Having nearly successfully killed myself on two different occassions, once saved by syrup of ipecac and the second the remnants of my faith in life and humanity on a whole... total depression is an absolutely horrible feeling. I honestly don't know why I am still even alive today after all that other than my own will.

My dad did put me on a couple anti-depressants, but I never was happy with how they worked... the only thing it seemed to do was make me more of a zombie, yes a lot less sad - but almost incapable of happiness either. Like, emotionally void I guess. I went off of them by my own choice, and my life began to look up after I did a bit of soul searching, got over a broken heart, made a lot of changes, and left my mother's abuse.

I feel bad having bared all this... but there you have it.

[jupiter23]

In my opinion, it was more brave and courageous of you to say that than if you had kept it to yourself. You seem like such a nice, frendly person on here, I personally never would have guessed that you had ever been depressed at all. It always helps to look at the bright side of things, which is what I always try to do. It's the only thing keeping me from total insanity.

[heartlessarchangel]

I was 15 and in my first year of high school, I was diagnosed with these three things:severe depression, annorexia, and mild asperger syndrome. I can honestly say, I didn't want to do anything with anybody...I would cry for no reason, write depressing poetry, not eat, lock myself up in my bedroom, or lay awake at night with thoughts of suicide and the feeling that the world was out to get me.

when my parents found out that I was losing like, 10 or 15 pds, they took me in to the see the doctor. he had me stay home for two weeks and put on Zoloft.....

Ever since, It's made me feel alot better, but i still fall into a slump now and again....just not as bad..

[AnimatedEvey12]

I haven't been diagnosed as clinically depressed but I have had times when I was depressed. When I was about 15 a lot of stuff happened mainly my grandma got sick and died by the end of the year and my mother was really depressed. I also was depressed but moreso between my grandmother getting sick and then dying.