Teenage Depression

Okay.
I have been dealing with depression ever since I was young.
So yes,
I do believe it exsists.
I just got over it, but a few months ago, it came back, and now im on medication to stop it.
honestly,
It doesnt really help.
I still get suicidal thoughts.
Its very hard to deal with...

I was actually diagnosed with depression,
So its not like Im just thinking "Oh! Im depressed!"
Its a hereditary thing in my family,
and we also believe its emotional trauma.

Listening to music like mcr makes me believe I am not going through this alone.
Thats what pulls me out of it for a bit.

^ with the medication, you should also be doing some form of therapy. are you seeing a psychiatrist weekly or even monthly? cos a lot of the time, meds dont work just on their own.
im glad to hear your working on it though

amyy.vengeance:

^ with the medication, you should also be doing some form of therapy. are you seeing a psychiatrist weekly or even monthly? cos a lot of the time, meds dont work just on their own.
im glad to hear your working on it though

I was in therapy for a while,
but then my mom thought I was fine,
and I was pulled out.
like 8 months later, My depression returned.
Im going to her agaqin, so hopefully that works.
Honestly,
MCR and my best friend are what keeps me alive.

teen depression sucks, i study child development at uni and during the adolescent years we are most at risk of depression. It's a stage of emotional development that we go through, well two stages really, industry vs inferiority and identity vs role confusion. Depression can hit at any time in your life and for any number of reasons, but while we go through these two stages of emotional development we are at a much greater risk. So yeah, teen depression is real.
Also, i was a silent sufferer for years, and now im at uni and i have people i can talk to which really helps. support of friends (such as King Of The Jews JR, awesome guy, pm him about anything) is amazing, it can do so much for your self esteem, knowing they still love you and that they won't reject you for it... my friend are the key to my support network.
but the hardest part for me is my family, as my dad committe suicide so my depression int allowed to exist, it hurts my mum too much. If mum doesn't want to know about something, then it doesnt exist. So i cant get the treatment i need. And treatment doent mean meds, my dad was on them and they didnt work, some people go on meds and it helps them, some people are too scared to go on meds. But therapy, councelling, seeing a psych... those sort of thngs are essential to getting better.
Basically depression is real, it hurts and kills people, it tears families apart... and society need to do more to help people suffering from or affected by it.

ThinkxHappyxThoughts:

Okay, I was looking up on depression, and I didn't see a depression thread so I started one.

1. Do you think there's really teenage depression, or are they just moody/hormonal/overreacting?
2. If a teen is depressed, is family support needed or can the teen get better by themselves/with the help of one close family member or friend(s)?
3. Can depression be treated without the help of a psychotherapist/medicine?
4. How?

I thought these questions would help us see your views. If anyone else has any more ideas feel free.

My Responses:

1. Yes, of course there is Teenage Depression, as well as other Mental Health Disorders such as PTSD. BUT, there is a major difference between being Depressed, and suffering from Depression. Everyone gets Depressed in their lives, but not everyone has Depression. To help determine if one is just Depressed, or experiencing Depression, I would suggest taking an extremely good online test available at The Depression Center.

2. To be honest, that question would entirely depend on the severity of the Depression, the possible causes of it (traumatic experience, etc.), and many other factors.

3. Once again, that would also depend on the cause/s and severity of the Depression.

4. St Johns Wort (a natural anti-depressant) is the main anti-depressant prescribed in Germany (?) for mild to moderate Depression. This means that it is prescribed more than Prozac, or any of the man-made anti-depressants. Omega 3's, where the EPA level is higher than the DHA, can also be helpful, as can your Vitamin B's. Naturally, these natural remedies are usually only helpful for mild to moderate Depression, and also depend on the cause/s.

Just one other note - not all Depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. In my case, it has been caused by trauma in my teenage years which I was incapable of resolving in a healthy way at the time. For me, Psychotherapy is the best treatment.

Hope this helps.

teenagers are under too much stress to be honest
as well as puberty playing on their hormones, it's not a nice time of a person's life.
i miss being a child, ever since i started secondary school my life's gone from good to bad & recently from bad to worse, due to depression.
i'd reccomend counseling, it really does help. i'd be so lost without it.

Yes, I think there is teenage depression. It's not just all hormones. I either have depression or bipolar disorder or something, because my moods are extreme. One day I am hysterically happy, others I am extremely depressed and don't want to do anything and wonder what the hell is the point of anything. You can't tell me that that is normal for teeneagers, so yeah, I think teenage depression is different from normal mood swings.

As far as medicine goes, I beleive that it is not necessary. I feel that treating things like depression with medicine takes away the person's feelings, like it takes part of them away. I don't think medicine cures it, I think it just makes the person feel like their better and they become numb to how they actually feel. Depression is something that I feel people should try to get over on their own with out medicine. It's what I try to do. Yeah, I have my bad days, but I try to make things better. I do that with the help of My Chem. I also believe that talking to someone, whether its a counselor or a friend, is helpful.

I think that it does exist (my dad's therapist thinks he was depressed from the age of 12), and I think that how it is treated depends on the person. For some people, medication works, whilst for others, it is therapy alone that helps. Yes, some people are just moody, I know a lot of those people, but some people are actually ill. I have a friend, who is in therapy for flipping out at her parents on her birthday. Now, I don't think that she has a problem, I think that she just had a temper tantrum, because she was tired. Another friend, however, has obvious mood swings, and goes from being happy, to suicidal, to crying, and back again, in an hour, and I think that he has a problem. I think that if it is prolonged and severe, then you should be careful, and talk.

My parents have been trying to put me in counciling for over a year,
I tend to overreact whenever I'm upset, and my depression shows though.
so yes, I do believe it exists.
I really don't want to go to therapy though.
All I need is one of my best friends to be there when I'm upset.

I'm diagnosed with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) and I have to have medication daily. I hit rockbottom 2 years ago and it was honestly the worst year of my life. I felt worthless to everyone and myself. I'm alot better but not perfect.
Yes, you get the odd thought of suicide but it really does depend on your state of mind at that time.
Yes, teenagers can have depression and disorders, we are humans too. Development in our brain has taken place so it is possible.
Yes, it sucks. But you have to pull through. I'm lucky to have the most amazing friends ever so keep me pretty positive.

What really annoys me though is when people pretend to be depressed, or paranoid or whatever. Why? Because I never had the choice and that just makes me feel like shit.

And the circle continues.

Personally, I think depression is over-diagnosed, as well as many "depressive illnesses" in this country. Not many people actually have depression. Our nation is just full of people who don't know how to cope and want a name to their feelings. Thing is, people are afraid to feel. Guess what. You get depressed a lot as a teenager because of your hormones. But you aren't depressed. Real depression is much, much different. And all those other "diagnoses"? Like bi-polar or whatever? I was diagnosed with that once, before I found out it's total bullshit. My doctor just said it so she could put me on meds to make me happy and stop me complaining.

my p.o.v, anyways.

I have actually been diagnosed with depression//anxiety.
I have been since I was really young
when I hit Teenage years
depression mixed with my hormones
and now I am just one big mess

Faye Merci:

Personally, I think depression is over-diagnosed, as well as many "depressive illnesses" in this country. Not many people actually have depression. Our nation is just full of people who don't know how to cope and want a name to their feelings. Thing is, people are afraid to feel. Guess what. You get depressed a lot as a teenager because of your hormones. But you aren't depressed. Real depression is much, much different. And all those other "diagnoses"? Like bi-polar or whatever? I was diagnosed with that once, before I found out it's total bullshit. My doctor just said it so she could put me on meds to make me happy and stop me complaining.

my p.o.v, anyways.

I do agree with a lot of that, but (sadly, not the case with your doctor) most doctor's put a lot of thought into diagnosing and prescribing. I've gone through a lot of psychoanalysis' before being diagnosed with sever anxiety, ocd & depression. My depression is mainly brought on by the other disorders, and it's not the sorta depression that most teens claim to have.
But I do see what you're getting at. So many people just say 'Oh, I'm so depressed!' And they don't even seem to know the meaning of the word

mindfuck.:

[font=2][size=85]^I agree with that, and I'd just like to add something else onto my post: there's a difference between feeling depressed and actually being depressed. Anyone can feel depressed - it's a deep sadness. But that doesn't mean you have to be diagnosed with depression.

Well said! We all have ups and downs, depending on events in your life. But if you feel sad or angry or something even when great things happen to you, that's a sign of depression.

Too many people think feeling down is being depressed

Teenage depression is a problem
weather it should be treated with medication or therapy varies

Sometimes it's unbalanced chemicals and in which case is best treated with medication
but sometimes there are psychological reasons for it, in which case therapy is the best choice

But sometimes its a mixture, so both are needed

there are some cases where there not sure which it is and still get both, like me for example, I have therapy, and I'm on 40ml of Prozac a day (which I don't think is working that well on me, oh well)

I think the best way to treat it is to talk to somebody about it, but people get scared to because there are some people who get the wrong idea and think there looking for attention, i used to have a friend like this.

but apart from that I dunno

1. Do you think there's really teenage depression, or are they just moody/hormonal/overreacting?
I myself am severely depressed, and it has branched off into so many other issues with myself - two in particular are illegal, and one that can step up into being illegal if I were to fail to beat temptation. It causes me to wake up each morning sobbing, and though the tears stop falling, the crying and hurt follows me through every breath. It has made me a violent person, an addict to many things, and has caused me to take on an eating disorder and sense of self-hate. It is very real, and very serious.

2. If a teen is depressed, is family support needed or can the teen get better by themselves/with the help of one close family member or friend(s)?
Depends on the people involved - the one depressed and the one they seek for support. I have confided into one very close friend because I know she understands over 50% of it. I dislike telling everything, though, because the mind can judge without the person wanting it to.

3. Can depression be treated without the help of a psychotherapist/medicine?
Yes, it can. Though therapy and medicine can be a big factor in recovery, it doesn't work for everybody - including me.

4. How?
When they feel they are ready to recover, ready to stop whatever shit comes with it, and other such self said things. I know I'm not at that stage yet, but when I wake up one morning and scream, "Fuck this, it has to stop - I'm not taking it anymore", I will be.

Note on MCR Music and MCR in general:
The music makes me feel that somebody understands, that somebody is speaking for me. And knowing what Gerard has been through inspires me a great deal, it makes me think, "If he, under the pressure of fame, can get better...then maybe I can, too." Since listening to their music and learning about them, every time I feel like cutting my life short I feel like there's a hand pulling me away from the bridge, the pills, and the window. I'm not alone anymore.

1. Yes, I definitely have it, although it has not been diagnosed.
2. I don't talk about it because it makes my Mum uncomfortable, and my friends don't really give a damn.
3. No, I think medication certainly helps you get on with life when you're really down in the pits. I don't believe in counselling, though. I don't want to give people I don't know the impression that I'm off the rails.