I'm not sure, but I might be depressed.
tomboywriter101
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I don't know how I would figure it out. I looked at the symptoms, not all of them fit me, but here are the ones that do/did:
Thoughts of death or suicide (used to do this)
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness (this is on and off for me)
Persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood
Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism (my friend says I sulk a lot. I have my moments and I think they are more than just hormones, but I'm not sure.)
Causes that might have triggered my "depression":
loss of a loved one (a close family member died of cancer a little over a year ago)
A difficult relationship (my mom and I are close, but she has a bad temper and I feel like I can't talk to her about some things.)
Any stressful situation may trigger a depressive episode. Subsequent depressive episodes may occur with or without an obvious trigger. (When I'm at home, this isn't an issue. However, when I'm at school and it's recess, I'm usually bored and don't want to socialize)
I'm not sure if I'm depressed or if this is normal for a teenager. Any advice?
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Thoughts of death or suicide (used to do this)
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness (this is on and off for me)
Persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood
Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism (my friend says I sulk a lot. I have my moments and I think they are more than just hormones, but I'm not sure.)
Causes that might have triggered my "depression":
loss of a loved one (a close family member died of cancer a little over a year ago)
A difficult relationship (my mom and I are close, but she has a bad temper and I feel like I can't talk to her about some things.)
Any stressful situation may trigger a depressive episode. Subsequent depressive episodes may occur with or without an obvious trigger. (When I'm at home, this isn't an issue. However, when I'm at school and it's recess, I'm usually bored and don't want to socialize)
I'm not sure if I'm depressed or if this is normal for a teenager. Any advice?
there is such a thing as mild depression, almost all teenagers go through it, if you think these feelings are getting out of hand then seek help.
i myself have had these feelings for a while, but i think my depression is a little more severe than yours, i found out later that most of the feelings and ideas i had were wrong, and my shrink helped me sort them out
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5 years since I last logged in, and nothing of value was lost
If you're questioning it, that means you probably are depressed. The label really is not the problem, because if you're unhappy you should get help regardless of a list of symptoms. It took me a very long time to figure that out, despite the obvious nature.
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CockneyRebel
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AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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That's what I understand, that depression can start off situational, and become biochem.
I AM NOT A DOCTOR. just a human being in there trying
That's what I understand, that depression can start off situational, and become biochem.
I AM NOT A DOCTOR. just a human being in there trying
Well, my understanding from social workers (my mom and I both suffer from affective-depressive disorder) that sometimes the biochem just happens.
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Friesland = a province in the Netherlands. Pronounced so that it rhymes the English word "free" (not "fry"). I live in the USA, but I have a Frisian surname and all-Dutch ancestry. Just a minor Aspie obsession of mine.
AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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As I understand it, a medication such as prozac works great for some people, hardly works at all for other people. And there's not a psychiatrist or neurologist in the world who can predict who the medicine will work on and who it won't. The science just isn't there yet. In a very reputable sense, it's trial and error. By that I mean, good trial and error.
And I understand about 4 weeks is about the time needed to tell whether a particular antidepressant will work for a particular person or not. And a person needs a doctor with a light touch. If this medicine, doesn't work, this other one might, or this third one.
And if we have to cycle through seven medications for a total of twenty-eight weeks, why the heck not? This is better than doing nothing.
And the same for dietary changes, great for some people, hardly at all for others.
It's all a matter of keep tinkering.
Now, tk5800 was helped by a shrink and more power to tk5800. I'm sure you've run across a variety of views regarding counselors, psychiatrists, etc, here at WrongPlanet. I myself generally had negative experiences. But plenty of other people had positive experiences. Importantly, it is your free choice. You can choose to see a counselor, you can choose not to. And a 'regular' doctor such as a family practitioner, internist, or your pediatrician if you're still on good terms with him or her can prescribe an antidepressant just as well as a psychiatrist. It's your choice.
---------------------------------------
During my teenager years, I think I was benefitted in that I had a couple of things going on, so that the social scene at my high school was not my whole world. I had
judo
Boy Scouts
my church (even though I am now comfortably atheist/agnostic)
If I had to do it all over again, I think I would have made more light forays into trying to meet some of the artistic kids and some of the political kids.
And I wish I would have known about prestudying math and science and other ways of 'gaming' the system, so I'd have more time left over for my own projects and activities. :>)
Good luck with everything. Please keep talking with us here as feels helpful.
And I understand about 4 weeks is about the time needed to tell whether a particular antidepressant will work for a particular person or not. And a person needs a doctor with a light touch. If this medicine, doesn't work, this other one might, or this third one.
And if we have to cycle through seven medications for a total of twenty-eight weeks, why the heck not? This is better than doing nothing.
And the same for dietary changes, great for some people, hardly at all for others.
It's all a matter of keep tinkering.
Now, tk5800 was helped by a shrink and more power to tk5800. I'm sure you've run across a variety of views regarding counselors, psychiatrists, etc, here at WrongPlanet. I myself generally had negative experiences. But plenty of other people had positive experiences. Importantly, it is your free choice. You can choose to see a counselor, you can choose not to. And a 'regular' doctor such as a family practitioner, internist, or your pediatrician if you're still on good terms with him or her can prescribe an antidepressant just as well as a psychiatrist. It's your choice.
---------------------------------------
During my teenager years, I think I was benefitted in that I had a couple of things going on, so that the social scene at my high school was not my whole world. I had
judo
Boy Scouts
my church (even though I am now comfortably atheist/agnostic)
If I had to do it all over again, I think I would have made more light forays into trying to meet some of the artistic kids and some of the political kids.
And I wish I would have known about prestudying math and science and other ways of 'gaming' the system, so I'd have more time left over for my own projects and activities. :>)
Good luck with everything. Please keep talking with us here as feels helpful.
Good points about whether or not the meds work. I was given Prozac years ago, and was never told that it might not work. In fact, it made things worse. And the doctor would not understand why I was not taking it. I kept telling myself, it's good for my mental health, so I should take it. But it wasn't . I wish doctors would tell us that.
_________________
Friesland = a province in the Netherlands. Pronounced so that it rhymes the English word "free" (not "fry"). I live in the USA, but I have a Frisian surname and all-Dutch ancestry. Just a minor Aspie obsession of mine.
AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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That's what I understand, that depression can start off situational, and become biochem.
I AM NOT A DOCTOR. just a human being in there trying
Well, my understanding from social workers (my mom and I both suffer from affective-depressive disorder) that sometimes the biochem just happens.
And that, too. Depression is just highly variable.
AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Age: 63
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That's a doctor you want to sit on the bench and get another doctor. (I haven't always done that. It sneaks up on you and kind of ambushes you, the situation, the fact that the person is such a poor listener, the fact that he or she is not really on your side)
That's a doctor you want to sit on the bench and get another doctor. (I haven't always done that. It sneaks up on you and kind of ambushes you, the situation, the fact that the person is such a poor listener, the fact that he or she is not really on your side)
Well,he knew I wasn't taking 'em. I didn't really know why I wasn't taking them. Instinct told me not to take them. I had multiple mental illnesses. Hard to sort things out. It's only been the past few years that I have had the ability to say for myself and to my doctor (a different one) that, "yes that med has bad effects", and " that med really works well".
_________________
Friesland = a province in the Netherlands. Pronounced so that it rhymes the English word "free" (not "fry"). I live in the USA, but I have a Frisian surname and all-Dutch ancestry. Just a minor Aspie obsession of mine.
AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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Age: 63
Gender: Male
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Location: Houston, Texas
Yes, I rather like this approach. The last couple of years I've been trying to develop my right-brain, feel-and-texture skills, esp taking a medium step, seeing how that medium step works out and then taking another medium step. And I sometimes refer to this as trusting and developing my instincts!
Okay, so I sometimes struggle with loneliness and depression. And another big issue has been OCD (more so about "chemical contamination" than germs!), but that one, big issue in my teenage years, but I've kind of beat it, ways to get around it, ways to almost make friends with it, and ways to accept that nonperfection almost makes things in life better!
