Might be suffering from depression

[Mint]

My parents are worried that I might be depressed. Recently I have started oversleeping, being bored a lot, lack of concentration, loss of appetite, apparently I'm irritable and a few other more personal things. I'm seeing my GP tomorrow so I hope that he says everything is ok. If he does diagnose me with depression though will I be given antidepressants? If they will make me feel better then of course I will take them but I'm not if there are any bad side effects, are there any?

[Hecktix]

My counsellor recently displayed a concern that I may be suffering from depression and I have an appointment with a psychiatrist at the end of the month.

All your GP will do is talk to you, they aren't qualified to make any diagnosis but what they can make is a referral. They will refer you to the acute mental health department at your local hospital. This sounds daunting but note it is the acute mental health - nothing serious, we all suffer from acute mental health problems, some people can deal with it more than others.

It's the psychiatrist that will then make a diagnosis, and there are all sorts of different methods that could be looked at then, simple counselling could be an option. Counselling helps me but that was for something other than depression. Of course anti-depressants are an option however I'm strongly against these and yes all drugs can have bad side effects, I can't list them as there are so many different types of anti-depressants they have so many different side effets.

At the end of the day just take the help you get offered :)
I think I may have to go against my personal ethics and take anti depressants but if it may help...

Good luck mate.

[Catzsy]

Teenagers are often depressed particuarly at exam time. The stress is normally real bad. See what the doctor says and good luck! :)

[Soy]

Excersise and start eating properly, you will feel like you have more energy and should gain more confidence when you see the benefits of the excersise

[luce]

Teenagers are often depressed particuarly at exam time. The stress is normally real bad. See what the doctor says and good luck! :)

stress and worry not clinical depression. Depression is too lightly knocked around like it's not serious.


My parents are worried that I might be depressed. Recently I have started oversleeping, being bored a lot, lack of concentration, loss of appetite, apparently I'm irritable and a few other more personal things. I'm seeing my GP tomorrow so I hope that he says everything is ok. If he does diagnose me with depression though will I be given antidepressants? If they will make me feel better then of course I will take them but I'm not if there are any bad side effects, are there any?

Sounds like you may be mildly depressed, but i think you have Stress and Worry which is what i had once and i had all of that. this was because my best friend was depressed and everything that came with it. Eventually he died. But they won't give you medication i dont think although I'm not a doctor yet LOL seriously don't worry about it just get something to occupy your mind and don't make your self sad that's what i used to do because it comforts you and it's the worst think you could possibly do

[Catzsy]

stress and worry not clinical depression. Depression is too lightly knocked around like it's not serious.



Sounds like you may be mildly depressed, but i think you have Stress and Worry which is what i had once and i had all of that. this was because my best friend was depressed and everything that came with it. Eventually he died. But they won't give you medication i dont think although I'm not a doctor yet LOL seriously don't worry about it just get something to occupy your mind and don't make your self sad that's what i used to do because it comforts you and it's the worst think you could possibly do

I am not knocking anything around :S Teenagers do suffer from depression whether it is caused by anxiety, stress or other events. I just think its best left to the Doctor to make a diagnosis as to whether it is clinical or not i.e. long term.

[Mint]

Excersise and start eating properly, you will feel like you have more energy and should gain more confidence when you see the benefits of the excersise

Thanks Catzy and Invincible. :)

I think it was you Soy that replied in my thread about cycling. I was asking about it because me and a friend have recently started to go on long bike rides. I have enjoyed them because it makes me feel good while I'm riding. However, once I get back home and am surrounded by the family business things really do start to become too much. Like today I walked in from school and straight away got asked to help out, I just wanted to crash out on my bed and put my head under a pillow.

Edit: Luccy, your friend died while he was depressed? Did his death have anything to do with his depression?

[Catzsy]

Thanks Catzy and Invincible. :)

I think it was you Soy that replied in my thread about cycling. I was asking about it because me and a friend have recently started to go on long bike rides. I have enjoyed them because it makes me feel good while I'm riding. However, once I get back home and am surrounded by the family business things really do start to become too much. Like today I walked in from school and straight away got asked to help out, I just wanted to crash out on my bed and put my head under a pillow.

Awww:( Have you tried to explain to your parents? Sounds like you just need to not have so much pressure on you.

[GrandTheftAudio]

Depending on the severity you could get drugs. And your age, I wasn't allowed due to my age. If you around 16ish, they can make you more depressed. Speak to your doctor and you could get a psychiatrist. Hope you get better. x

[Mint]

Awww:( Have you tried to explain to your parents? Sounds like you just need to not have so much pressure on you.

Well this is the thing, when I said that my parents are worried that I might be depressed It's actually just my mum that thinks so. My dad doesn't understand and thinks it's just a load of rubbish. So it was my mum that contacted my GP about it and to be honest I hope that my GP will say there's something wrong just to make my dad look like an idiot. And about my age, I don't like telling anyone my age. But the pills part shouldn't be a problem. :)

[Catzsy]

Well I hope it all goes well or went well if you have been. :)

[FlyingJesus]

Excersise and start eating properly, you will feel like you have more energy and should gain more confidence when you see the benefits of the excersise

This advice is far more useful than it may seem. It's simple things but seriously if you don't stay active and at least somewhat healthy (not saying you need a diet and exercise plan or anything) then you will feel bad in yourself. Due to my evening work hours against most of my friends working during the day, I spent a fair while not doing much at all and my mum then had the same worries - I was up late and sleeping in the day, eating poorly, not having much energy and generally being inactive. All I did was make sure I got outside more (often go out at like 5am for a run as I'm still up then) and got plenty of fruit even alongside the other crap I eat, and I've felt better and looked better since. I still sleep half the day but that's just my sleep pattern I need to sort out :P

Good look with it all, and importantly try not to worry about it too much - worrying about depression is only going to make it worse!

[Mint]

I didn't go, had an argument with my parents about it. I heard my mum on the phone saying "sorry we couldn't make it". Not sure what I'm going to do now. Thanks for your advice anyhow.

[Stefy09]

I stopped going to school after christmas, stayed up late, was always moody etc so I had to go to the doctor and he said I might be depressed, then he gave me a piece of paper which had questions like "Do you ever feel like harming yourself?" and you have to tick the right box (like 'sometimes', 'all the time', 'never' etc) then he judges the depression level by that, I then had to see a phychiatrist, I already had to see one every months 2 years ago because I stopped going to school then but got over it after my mum almost got sent to court for my absense from school which didn't help.

If its only a minor depression then you will probably get over it, you don't need medication, tbh you just need someone to talk to

[LoveToStack]

I stopped going to school after christmas, stayed up late, was always moody etc so I had to go to the doctor and he said I might be depressed, then he gave me a piece of paper which had questions like "Do you ever feel like harming yourself?" and you have to tick the right box (like 'sometimes', 'all the time', 'never' etc) then he judges the depression level by that

That's crap if it's the only thing the doctor did. Just because I don't wanna drag a blunt butter knife across my wrist doesn't mean I'm not depressed.

[RandomManJay]

I've felt like that for the past 3 years and no one has suspected me of suffering from depression, probably cause I act like that all the time :P. If you want to get it sorted out, you don't really have to directly involve your parents, go to the GP on your own or contact a helpline or see if there are counsellors in school, it's better than nothing. Sometimes parents can aggrivate the situation by forcing certain things on you when you should have the choice, but usually you will grow out of the phase since it doesn't sound major.

[Nixt]

All your GP will do is talk to you, they aren't qualified to make any diagnosis but what they can make is a referral. .

Negative. My GP diagnosed me with depression a good few weeks ago now after I was having serious trouble sleeping. To begin with she sent me off for a week and gave me a questionnaire which I filled out. I went back and due to a number of reasons which I will not go in to, we decided I was depressed. I was referred to a counsellor and I am on the anti-depressant Fluoxetine (more commonly known as prozac). The only side effect I get is the occasional runny stool (ew, I know). I am aware there are more side effects but it depends on the person. I am not amazing with advice, but if you would like to talk to anyone I am just a PM away, mate! This is something I can relate to in a number of ways and I'd be happy to listen - it helps a lot :).

[leah]

Good luck with everything, and just be honest when you're there!

[Jorc]

My sister was going through a lot of hard stuff, so she got depressed and was prescribed antidepressants. So taking them might do some good for you. Hopefully everything works out well for you!

[brandon]

I think you're just going through a phase of minor depression. When you've had clinical depression, minor depression feels like nothing. Cheer up!