Depression
Depression can come in many forms. If you are feeling different to your usual self, are not interested in the things you used to be interested in or feel sad a lot of the time you may be depressed. There are lots of different feelings linked with depression. Some people don’t want to eat anything and others want to eat all of the time. Some people have difficulty sleeping and others want to sleep all of the time. Some people withdraw into themselves, and some people, more commonly boys, may express anger towards themselves or others.
The overall feeling is one of sadness and isolation. You may feel that nobody loves you or cares about you or you may feel there is no point in living and that everyone else would be better off without you.
Depression can be like a black hole that you feel you are in with no way out. You may feel hopeless and helpless. You may feel that life is too painful to bear and want to end it all.
One of the things about depression is that it does get better but it is a really hard thing to believe when you are feeling so down.
There are many different reasons why people get depressed.
- It can be a biological cause, which means that the body’s chemicals are out of balance.
- It could be a reaction to something that has happened to you in the past.
- It may be about something that is happening to you now e.g. If you are being bullied/abused by somebody.
- It can be about the weather, there is something called SAD which stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. This happens in the autumn and winter when the daylight hours get shorter, this can make some people feel depressed.
The difficult thing about depression is that it can be a vicious circle. The things that will help you feel better can be the things that you donít feel like doing.
It is proven that exercise is something that can help, but if you have a depression that makes you want to sleep all day or do nothing this can be a hard thing to make yourself do.
If you are feeling down try and talk to someone about it, there are people that can help. It may be a good idea for you to go to your Doctor to discuss what options you have. You may feel that you could talk to a teacher at school or the school counsellor who will listen and help you.
Although you may feel alone there are people that can help you. Your bad feelings won’t last forever, try and help yourself by thinking about positive things so that you can move on from these feelings and start enjoying life. Have a look at our Where Do I Go For Help part of the website you may find information there helpful.
If you have anything you would like to know or discuss, please e-mail us. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
If you are under 18, and tell us that you (or someone you know)are being or have been sexually abused or raped, we may have to share this information with Social Services, who will then help you get the support you need.