Depression?

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PrAyFoRpUrItY

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Hey y’all…

I don’t know what’ wrong with me honestly. The past couple of weeks I’ve been sad, and emotionally low. I haven’t wanted to do anything, see anyone, go anywhere, and that is NOT normal for me! I’m usually a social butterfly. But, I’ve been tearing up several times a day. My parents think it’s because I just don’t want to deal with college applications or scholarship stuff. I want to go to this college near me, but it’s over $30,000 a year, and obviously that is going to stress me out! But it isn’t that! I just haven’t been happy at all.

My mom is starting marriage counseling because of her relationship with my dad. We are a practicing Catholic family of 8, and my siblings and I have been home schooled all the way through. But no family is perfect. My dad drinks too much, and my mom nags almost constantly lately. If the house isn’t clean and the kids aren’t ahead in school, she’s going to yell. That’s probably part of my unhappiness…my parents.

But is there really a reason for me to be so unhappy!! I never sleep through the night, but I’m going to be before 9 because I’m just tired all of the time now! My boyfriend is telling me to pray about it, but I’m sick of praying. I feel so lonely because I never see him and my friends live about an hour away from me (we live in the countryside near the Houston area.) I miss Houston, my friends and my boyfriend…

Can y’all help me?
 
Find something to do. Hang out with someone, see a movie, find a hobby, see a doctor, read a book, play an instrument, distract yourself with a prayer-- The possibilities and activities are endless! 😃

There are many ways to make yourself happy and many ways to have a little fun!

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood
 
Would your parents allow you to get involved in some parish youth activities? Check your weekly bulletin for something that might interest you, and then ask them. Ours is always packed with things for the young folks to do. Especially, as Thanksgiving and Christmas draw near.

I once heard it said… that there is no better way to overcome bouts of depression… than to get out there… and help someone else.

Hang in there. God bless.👍
 
I second the advice to get involved with your Youth Group. I just started, and went to a Spiritual Retreat from 9 AM to 9 PM yesterday and it was amazing!!! If your Parish offers one, and you are allowed to go, I definitely would! Im just getting over probably the most serious depression I’ve ever been in, and the one piece of advice I can give you is to PRAY! I know that it can feel “dry,” but trust me, It helps. And like St. Faustina said, Jesus is closest to you when you feel alone, and think He’s not there. Thats when we get the most Graces from God. Hang in there, youre in my prayers. God Bless,
Jacob :signofcross:
 
If your symptoms remain unremittant for another month (or earlier if symptoms get worse) talk to your doctor.
 
Try to focus of the positives in your life. If you have a favorite activity do that. Find a person to talk to. Someone who not only listens to your problems but who can cheer you up. Email or teleconference with your friends or boyfriend.

Sometimes getting out of a depression is merely being able to focus on something other than your problems.

IF your depression persists, DO go see a doctor. You may need professional help. It may be something as simple as a chemical imbalance or you may need counselling so you can cope with your problems.

You may also want to look at a less expensive school. A much cheaper alternative is to attend a junior college for the first two years.
 
Henning said:
If your symptoms remain unremittant for another month (or earlier if symptoms get worse) talk to your doctor.
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It is a very wise and prudent move to consult one’s doctor where depression is concerned as it can be an illness that can be treated successfully by a doctor - it probably is and most often thankfully is a passing illness. But no need to be in the type of pain depression can bring, when medicine can alleviate that suffering which will affect and often colour black one’s whole life.

Blessings…Barb:)
 
I’m not a counselor or anything, but it sounds like you and your family are going through a stressful time right now. Stress can cause you to feel weepy. It also sounds like you are facing the end to one chapter in your life i.e. finishing high school and starting a new one which can be scary. Try to reach out to your friends. Is there some way they could meet you half way between where you live and they live? Where are your friends going to college? Are they going to the $30,000 college? Are there any cheaper colleges close to where your friends are going to college?
I lived in a college town with four colleges. My roommate had high school friends in all of the colleges. They managed to get together to do something once a week.

You say that you are home-schooled. Does your family attend any of the functions for home-schooled students? It might be something to look into, just to take your mind off of all the changes in your life you will be facing. Checking out the Youth Group at church is a great suggestion.

Keep praying. Try reading the Bible. If your concerned about what the future holds, one of my favorite passages is from Matthew Chapter 6:34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow will have anxieties of its own. Sufficient for today is its own troubles. I also say Jesus I trust in you whenever I face difficult decisions. Trust Jesus with all your concerns and worries. He will help you choose the right path for you.
Right now, in addition to praying, surround yourself with things that lift your spirit. Music, good movies, good books and good companions are all spirit lifters. You should also read some good jokes and share them with others. There is nothing like laughter to lift the spirits.
Also, go to the doctor to make sure their is no physical reason for this sadness. If not, then exercise and hold your youngest siblings and sing kids songs with them. The exercise and the giving of yourself will help lift your spirits.

God Bless you! I’ll keep you in my prayers.
 
Quoting from Galnextdoor:
Also, go to the doctor to make sure their is no physical reason for this sadness. If not, then exercise and hold your youngest siblings and sing kids songs with them. The exercise and the giving of yourself will help lift your spirits.
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…👍 …Good post - all of it - and jolly good advice. Perhaps you could consider training to be a counsellor at some point if you wish.

Barb:)
 
I think you have plenty of reason to be down: your family is in turmoil, and you don’t have much of an outside support structure.

I wouldn’t rush to the doctor, though. There really isn’t a blood test for depression. They just ask some questions, and hand you a perscription for anti-depressants. They can be very dangerous for anyone, but especially for younger people.

You need to be getting out in the air and sunlight, getting some exercise every day. Avoid sugary foods, the insulin spikes play heck with your moods. Sunlight is a great anti-depressant-- the extra vitamin D is a mood lifter.

Try to be positive: bad moods are habit forming. You don’t need to ignore the family situation or repress your honest emotions-- that isn’t healthy. But remind yourself that things do work out sometimes, and you will get through this even if they don’t.

It’s important to work on your future goals: study for the SATS, apply for scholarships, don’t let the fact that you may not be able to attend your dream school stop you from looking for the best of the alternatives.

And pray.
 
Sam_Maloney said:
I think you have plenty of reason to be down: your family is in turmoil, and you don’t have much of an outside support structure.

I wouldn’t rush to the doctor, though. There really isn’t a blood test for depression. They just ask some questions, and hand you a perscription for anti-depressants. They can be very dangerous for anyone, but especially for younger people.

You need to be getting out in the air and sunlight, getting some exercise every day. Avoid sugary foods, the insulin spikes play heck with your moods. Sunlight is a great anti-depressant-- the extra vitamin D is a mood lifter.

Try to be positive: bad moods are habit forming. You don’t need to ignore the family situation or repress your honest emotions-- that isn’t healthy. But remind yourself that things do work out sometimes, and you will get through this even if they don’t.

It’s important to work on your future goals: study for the SATS, apply for scholarships, don’t let the fact that you may not be able to attend your dream school stop you from looking for the best of the alternatives.

And pray.
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I wouldn’t rush to the doctor, though. There really isn’t a blood test for depression. They just ask some questions, and hand you a perscription for anti-depressants. They can be very dangerous for anyone, but especially for younger people.
Click to expand...
The above is a very sweeping statement and generalization indeed!:confused: …all prescription drugs can be dangerous in potential to any person who takes them no matter age - not only the young, this is why they are under prescription only. One needs to take them as prescribed and to report any uncomfortable side effects to one’s doctor - common sense!

Persistent depression can worsen and worsen and then worst, and it is a dreadful state mentally if this should happen when medical treatment would avoid it. Depression that persists is an illness needing treatment, for the state of depression in the first place is an illness - sometimes it passes though, like a cold, as it is only a temporary passing illness that is not severe - like a cold.

The OP does have the symptoms of depression and over an extended period it seems…

.
 
Untreated depression can be very dangerous and deadly. Side effects from medications can be troublesome, but side effects of depression can be attempted suicides and death.

I’ve been through it and folks who know me would never guess. Normally I’m very laid back and very rarely in a down mood. But when stress got the better of me, my thinking went totally haywire, I could not sleep because I couldn’t get my troubles out of my mind, and then I starting having wierd thinking (mainly because of sleep deprivation. I knew something was wrong but couldn’t quote put my figure on it. When you’re depressed or obsessing, you don’t think clearly and you literally forget that you haven’t been getting enough sleep. That combinationn can be deadly.

A few days off and getting proper rest could have fixed everything but I was in no condition to make that diagnoses on my own.

IF your thinking becomes muddled, seek help ASAP, a counselor, friend, parents or professional.

For me, I came to in a mental ward after an attempted suicide. I got counseling after the fact. Some counseling before hand may have prevented that.
 
I would first get a complete physical. There are known illnesses that cause depression, one is cancer in the early stages. If nothing shows up here, blood tests ok, etc, then trying to fight it by going against it and getting some exercise, being in social mixes again, listening to uplifting music, treating the body right, (eating good foods, sleeping at regular times, heck, even popping a one-a-day vitamin wouldn’t hurt).

If non of this helps, or does here and there but not for long, it’s time to seek a psychologist who can diagnose it.

The concern you have with family and your stage in life should be just that, concerns. And not make one depressed. Unless there is some reason you blame yourself for the state of your family, or the college you find tough to attend. Blame and guilt can also cause depression. Perhaps a simple talk with a priest 0ne-on-one could help alleviate this part of it.
 
BarbaraTherese said:
The above is a very sweeping statement and generalization indeed!:confused: …all prescription drugs can be dangerous in potential to any person who takes them no matter age - not only the young, this is why they are under prescription only. One needs to take them as prescribed and to report any uncomfortable side effects to one’s doctor - common sense!

Persistent depression can worsen and worsen and then worst, and it is a dreadful state mentally if this should happen when medical treatment would avoid it. Depression that persists is an illness needing treatment, for the state of depression in the first place is an illness - sometimes it passes though, like a cold, as it is only a temporary passing illness that is not severe - like a cold.

The OP does have the symptoms of depression and over an extended period it seems…

.
Click to expand...
Suicide is a recognized, listed side effect of some SSRIs for young people, but doctors are passing them out like m&ms. [Sorry if the bold font seems harsh, but a lot of people seem to be unaware of this information]. So long as they don’t think your suicidal right this minute and aren’t particularly manic, you can have all you want.

I’ve been on SSRIs, I know the risks. For me, enormously useful in the short term, nearly fatal after a couple years when my emotions went totally haywire: it was hell on earth. If I hadn’t been aware that what I was suffering was a side effect of my brain chemistry clearing the drugs out, there is no way I would have been able to keep on living.

SSRIs are only appropriate if the cause of the depression is seratonin related. If you feel bad because things in your life are going poorly, they won’t help, they will hurt-- a LOT.

Far safer natural altenatives exist: St. Johns’s Wort at 900mg/daily, a b-vitamin and fish oil for the EFAs.

Some recent studies have shown St. John’s to be very effective and far safer than SSRIs.
 
I’m not real keen on drugs either. The ones I took made me skittish and I thought made things worse. One of my relatives is bipolar and she has been on medication much too long. Even the drug warning labels say not to take them beyong several months. She has become dependant on them and the silly doctors has had her on the drugs for over two years.

BUT if someone has problems, I think counseling or just consulting with other folks is invaluable. IF it is really deep seated depression, then a professional may be needed.

Doctors don’t know everything but at least they have been trained to deal with these things. You may have to consult a couple before you find someone who really knows what they are doing and not just over medicating folks.
 
WCKNIGHT

If you have Bipolar disorder you have to be medicated for the rest of your life. It can be just too dangerous otherwise. If they stay in the depressed mode they could be suicidal. If in the manic mode like my neice they think they can drive 100 mph and stay in control risking their lives and every driver’s out there. You would not tell a diabetic that insulin should be used on a short term basis. Bi-polar disorder is an illness like any other illness. I have several family members with it. Every individual is different. See a Doctor is the best plan and if needed take a support person along to the Doc with you.
 
PrAyFoRpUrItY said:
, but I’m sick of praying. I feel so lonely because I never see him and my friends live about an hour away from me (we live in the countryside near the Houston area.) I miss Houston, my friends and my boyfriend…

Can y’all help me?
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whne my mind is focused on “worldly” things, i also find it hard to persevere in prayer. But when i force myself to continue in prayer anyway, especially the rosary, i am always glad i did because, for one thing, i get insights into whatever situation i am going through. For example, i may get the thought that i am focused on other people too much instead of JEsus. Maybe that is what is going on with you - focusing on your parents problems too mcuh. Sometimes things bother us that we are not aware of on a conscious level. That’s one thing i like about the rosary. It seems to help with “subconscious” issues, or am i only speaking for myself?

Anyway, i will keep you in prayer if you keep me in prayer also. I am dealing with Satan (but i guess that goes without saying).

“The devil has come down hard on the world becasue he knows he has so little time…”
 
I agree with Sam and the others not to run off to a doctor for magic pills. I also would not make any major decisions about my life, right now. You have every reason to be down.

I recently ran across a journal I kept around your age. I used words like “suffocating”, and “sad”. My parents were pretty much like yours. Life seemed hopeless, except that I knew I would eventually escape. And, of course, I did. They did not mean to make things miserable. This time of life for a young person is the most difficult, take consolation in that.

Remember that circumstances change. There is a lot of stress and uncertainty in the world right now. That is making things worse. Things will improve.

Can you go to a two-year school that’s cheaper? I went to one that was a resdient school, but it was a state school, and cheap.
Perhaps you could start with that. Get a two-year degree and then transfer for your four-year. You may find you get more mileage out of that two-year degree than anything.

You may have to ride this out. I recommend journaling your feelings. You sound dry in your prayer life, so you must just trust that God has big plans for you, and is putting you through this to develop you for something special down the line. I always sensed it. I think it made me a better person. Otherwise, I would have had no sympathy for others.

This too, shall pass. Wait and see what God has in store for you, even if he lets you suffer a while longer. I suspect you are a
“diamond in the rough”, getting polished up. :o
 
PrAyFoRpUrItY said:
Hey y’all…

I don’t know what’ wrong with me honestly. The past couple of weeks I’ve been sad, and emotionally low. I haven’t wanted to do anything, see anyone, go anywhere, and that is NOT normal for me! I’m usually a social butterfly. But, I’ve been tearing up several times a day. My parents think it’s because I just don’t want to deal with college applications or scholarship stuff. I want to go to this college near me, but it’s over $30,000 a year, and obviously that is going to stress me out! But it isn’t that! I just haven’t been happy at all.

My mom is starting marriage counseling because of her relationship with my dad. We are a practicing Catholic family of 8, and my siblings and I have been home schooled all the way through. But no family is perfect. My dad drinks too much, and my mom nags almost constantly lately. If the house isn’t clean and the kids aren’t ahead in school, she’s going to yell. That’s probably part of my unhappiness…my parents.

But is there really a reason for me to be so unhappy!! I never sleep through the night, but I’m going to be before 9 because I’m just tired all of the time now! My boyfriend is telling me to pray about it, but I’m sick of praying. I feel so lonely because I never see him and my friends live about an hour away from me (we live in the countryside near the Houston area.) I miss Houston, my friends and my boyfriend…

Can y’all help me?
Click to expand...
I am a bit concerned for our new member, PrAyFoRpUrItY, and the opening poster. Welcome to CAF incidentally:thumbsup:

I am hoping that you may have found some helpful advice in the posts that have unfolded, and that they have not confused you in any way - rather proved to be a help! Please keep us informed of how things are going:thumbsup:

Asking advice on a discussion board such as CAF when life problems crop up can draw a vast range of advice…hopefully if such occurs, the one who has asked will find something helpful in it all - and something that will really help and be long lasting.

There is always the private messaging facility too!👍

Keeping you in prayer…Barb:)

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