What age were you when chronic depression started?

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I'm a 16 year old. I've been depressed since I was 8. I cannot remember a time where my mood fluctuated and plateaued over time, as opposed to quickly. I cannot remember a time where I did not have this headache.

Was suicidal at 7. I remember being happy at 3. It's not chronic-chronic as I am bipolar, and the depression issues got much better once I could withdraw completely from people at choice and do whatever I wanted. So very grateful for that.

I want to say I was 11 or 12. I couldn't take the social humiliation anymore and started to feel hopeless that things would ever get any better. My life has been up and down since, but mostly down these days.

About 14 or 15, maybe. It went away for a while but life has been hell recently, I'm 17.

I was something like 8 or 9, maybe younger. The doctors (and my family) told me I couldn't possibly be depressed at that age and dismissed my requests for help as hypochondria or manipulation looking for attention, which only made matters worse. My symptoms of AS were also dismissed in the same way. I remember my mother always yelling at me to stop dragging my feet and being "lazy" when I just genuinely couldn't force myself to move anymore and would often simply break down crying.

I don't remember a time when I was "my old self" or feeling generally happy/satisfied with life. I have periods of feeling very happy, even euphoric, and (far more often) periods of horrible depression. When I feel the depression coming I do my best to fight my way out of it, getting exercise, forcing myself to *do* things instead of sitting around, but it's not easy and sometimes even when I'm feeling happiness from something, there is still that underlying "life is pointless and nothing matters" feeling. There is also a family history of depression, which probably contributes.

Around middle school is the earliest that I can remember. Didn't realize it was depression until high school.

First became suicidally depressed at around nine.

I am not sure I can remember what its like not to be depressed to some extent. I think it may have started around 4 or 5 when I started going to school. I was 12 the first time I cut myself. Every few years I go through a major depressive period and the rest of the time I am at least mildly depressed.

It is for some people. Depression and mental illness comes from my mum's side of the family in particular. I was officially diagnosed with depression at the age of 12.

Was diagnosed with major depressive disorder at 11, but that has nothing to do with when it started for me.

I don't remember exactly, but pretty early on. I think I first really realized something could be wrong when I was like 10 but I mostly kept it to myself and it progressed from there till I was 15 and attempted suicide, I was in therapy for that for a couple years which ended up not really helping too much especially since soon after I quit going because I thought I was doing better PTSD causing crap happened and I still have the chronic depression which I find especially difficult right now.

I was born depressed

Hmmmm....sometime in my teenage years, or after my mom had to move out of state cuz of my stepdad's new job when I was 12 and a half. I do know for sure that my overeating/emotional eating tendencies started when she left.

Since I was like 5 years old, it's true when lose a parent to something horrible as a kid, childhood is over a whatever remains a broken depressing life. So pretty much as far back as I can remember ive always had depression

Would also explain the reason I never wanted to be anything.

I think I was around 12 to 13. I read that if it's genetic, patients can exhibit symptoms as young as 12, and in rare cases 8 or 9.

I would say at birth, because its always been there and its really heavy right now. During happier times I might have a different answer. It gets worse when times are tough. I can distract myself from it when I get focused on working towards goals. It relieves me only when I fall in love.