"Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn’t worth living.
I think life is is worth living and I do not have trouble doing day to day activities. I am just in a very rough patch in my life.
Don’t have trouble doing day to day activities…except going to school, if I recall correctly…? You were contemplating lying to your parents and professors so that you wouldn’t have to go and deal with what was making you anxious and sad.
But whatever. You have the link for the FREE services that are waiting for you to take advantage of them. Do so.
Fine Fine Ill try to get help. But what do I say to the therapist? I don’t want the therapist to think that I am a psychopath because I am not. I have also heard that some therapists do not help and just kiss up to you instead.
I do not think that I am depressed. I think that I am just going through a rough patch in my life.
Do you think that I am depressed?
What signs of depression have I shown?
Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions
Fatigue and decreased energy Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness Feelings of hopelessness and/or pessimism
Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping Irritability, restlessness Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex (you said you thought you might be asexual so maybe??)
Overeating or appetite loss
Persistent aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” feelings
Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts
And/or whatever other ones you can think of; I’m just going off of your pessimistic, self-loathing, often combative posts on these boards.
Fine Fine Ill try to get help. But what do I say to the therapist? I don’t want the therapist to think that I am a psychopath because I am not. I have also heard that some therapists do not help and just kiss up to you instead.
Be honest. That is hard sometimes, but honesty with a therapist will help him/her to be better able to help you. If you can say that you have been in a rough patch for a number of months and are not sure how to get back to enjoying life, that is a start. But use your own words that are authentic to your situation.
One of the big themes I see from reading posts here is that folks come into their freshman year and have difficulties but don’t want to ask for help. The trouble may be social or academic, or just being extremely homesick. Whatever the issue, the student is embarrassed to ask for help. But not doing anything simply leads to more troubles.
So, say you don’t understand a concept in a math class. You could assume you are stupid, do your work incorrectly, get bad grades, fail a course, and ruin your GPA your very first semester. Or, you could ask the professor right after class for help. Or stop by the prof’s office during stated office hours. Or ask a classmate for an explanation. Or pull together a study group, or work with a Teaching Assistant. Lots of ways to help.
Same with the way you are feeling now. Sure, you can grit your teeth and remain sad and maybe make it through a semester. But do you really want to feel this way through 4 years of school? College is what you make of it, and academic classes are only a small part of the experience. Don’t short change yourself. Yes, people seem like the enemy right now, but with a little help, over time, you can make small changes and work to improve your mindset.
The college staff wants to help. They have set up counseling staff to help with the transition to college. You are not the only person coming to college with some struggles. They are well-equipped to meet your needs. There may be several counselors on staff, so if you don’t click well with the first counselor, you can ask to see a different one the next time. It takes 3-4 sessions before you can get over the weirdness of sharing with another person, so please plan to stick with it for one month before you walk away.
Powercropper offers excellent advice, @beetleman. Please make it a point to regularly check in with the counselors at your school. They do want to help. Good luck.
YOU DO NEED COUNSELING…your illness is affecting your life. The depression makes you not want to get help, not meet people…maybe not do schoolwork. You need to talk to someone.
