<p>OP, I have a son who became depressed during college. He too was sleeping 18 hours a day and could not even get out of bed to brush his teeth. he told me pretty early that he was depressed and intended to see a doctor but much later he realized his depression had started much earlier and that he had been self-medicating with alcohol (bad idea since alcohol is a depressant!). He had a hard time getting to class and couldn’t really get anything done. Things got pretty bad, worse than he would have predicted. Medication and counseling are probably the reason he is here today. As a parent, the most comforting thing I could say to myself was how lucky I was to have had a son who recognized he needed help and was able to pick up the phone and tell me he was getting that help. Did I (Do I) worry all of the time? Yes, but I also would be devastated if I thought my son had to deal with such a serious illness all alone. Depression is isolating and it helps to have family involved. I absolutely think you should get therapy ASAP. Having said that, if you choose NOT to get therapy (which would be a mistake), here are some avenues to take: Find a spiritual practice of some sort (doesn’t have to involve traditional religion), go to yoga, meditate, get 30 minutes of exercise per day, take vitamin D and Fish Oil supplements, and volunteer anywhere helping others once a week. All of these things have been researched and proven as helpful as PART of a treatment plan for depression. The other part is THERAPY. If you find you cannot make yourself consistently do any of the things I suggested, then logically you have to accept that you are unable to help yourself at this point and hopefully that will convince you to seek professional assistance. Good luck and I wish you peace and happiness. P.S. You cannot see this now, but your GPA does not matter, your major does not matter, your future career choice does not matter. I understand that you want to protect your privacy due to an unreasonable prejudice regarding mental health issues in this country, but if you aren’t healthy enough to get through college then you will not be healthy enough to get through training for the military.</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I feel bad for updating this thread, because inevitably somebody won’t notice the date on the original post and will reply to it. But I know that there are some people that search for depression threads on college confidential, because I used to be one of them. So this update is for you.</p>
<p>I did not seek help. I should have, but I didn’t. I ended up failing 2 classes that semester and doing poorly in the others. I became more withdrawn and unhappy. I continued to make poor decisions and had some embarrassing incidents. By the end of the semester I had decided to take a gap year this year. My parents were very unhappy with that decision and were more confused than anything, because I had barely communicated with them for a year and then had destroyed my gpa. They were worried about me. They asked me what had been going on, and I continued to downplay the situation.</p>
<p>Towards the end of the semester, I just started feeling better. I can’t tell you why. I started spending a lot of time at the gym. I still couldn’t concentrate or really process information well. So I did terribly on my final exams, but I was cheerful about it. I had accepted the consequences of my habits that semester.</p>
<p>I went on to have the best summer of my life so far. I worked very hard in an environment that was totally different from my university environment. I had actually worked there the summer before and had been really unhappy. Really it’s all about the way you look at things. Because summer had refreshed me, I decided to go back to school this semester to try to raise my gpa to make transferring more of an option.</p>
<p>At this point, I am doing well. To be honest, I still don’t enjoy my classes, but I go to them. My study habits are still on the poor side, but they are definitely better. And so far they have worked for me. I am still withdrawn and a loner, but I don’t mind. I’m happy.</p>
<p>Looking back, I think the fascination with the military was just an excuse to avoid seeking help. It’s still a possibility but not a strong one. I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life, but I’m ok with that.</p>
<p>I still don’t think I am at the right school, but that is something I can and will change if I need to.</p>
<p>Thank you for all of the initial replies. I really appreciated the support. If you are reading this because you are in a similar situation, then go get help or at least tough it out. Just don’t give into any urges to self-harm. Life is too interesting to give up on.</p>