<p>I'm insanely depressed and unmotivated right now (no thoughts of suicide or self-harm, however), and am interested in a psychiatrist or a therapist.</p>
<p>However... I'm so busy right now. I don't know if therapy will do anything for me, and I'm afraid that spending time talking to a therapist when I could be working on academics or college applications will negatively impact my future.</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>If you can, don’t see your school counselor as that might be reflected in your rec from him/her. If you go to a real psychiatrist, they are legally bound to not release information regarding your condition. Antidepressants are seldom prescribed to minors so likely, you’re just going to discuss your feelings with them. For non-clinical treatment, you could try strenuous exercise (swimming works wonders) or weed.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I hope you were joking about the latter…</p>
<p>Not at all. I’ve done tons of prescription and recreational drugs and they’ve helped me make new friends, feel happier, focus in school/competition and do well in varsity athletics. Some pot will mellow you out and help you make sense of whatever hardship you’re feeling.</p>
<p>Swimming doesn’t do anything for me anymore… in fact, I hate it. I wanted to continue hip-hop dancing, but my parents already paid for a full season on the school swim team. I’m trapped with this set-up, basically.</p>
<p>Talk to your parents or your best friend that you can trust. I always would talk to a teacher that I deeply trust. I always talk to my math teacher because she has a PhD in Psychology lol. She helped me get back on my feet when I found out my dad had cancer. Or talk to a guidance councilor, they might not be the best help, but they WILL help. I hope you get better. :)</p>
<p>I talk to my parents about it, and they are very supportive and try to get me to see the triviality of this depression.</p>
<p>Still… it doesn’t really help me at all to know that this is just a stage that will pass, because I’m suffering NOW. I’ve been running on fumes for a long time just because I know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. I can feel the fumes running out, and I want to know what can keep me working.</p>
<p>As for my friends, I stopped bothering them about these things. I was tired of burdening them with negativity and was quite scared of losing them because I wasn’t capable of talking about anything else.</p>
<p>@amadeus134 I see what you mean. I wouldn’t want rant to my friends all the time either. But I need to know what are you depressed about.</p>
<p>If you’re afraid to go to a therapist or if you don’t really want to go to one, whatever treatment you seek WILL NOT WORK. You have to really want to go to therapy for it to help you. </p>
<p>Also, it is a valid concern that it will eat up time. Going to counselling does take time and it also is very exhausting. However, once you talk your issues through and find the roots of your depression, you’ll feel much better.</p>
<p>If you can’t afford the time right now, find some kind of healthy coping mechanism to help you relax and work off that negative energy. </p>
<p>It can be something as simple as going out for a jog or playing an instrument… </p>
<p>Also, to work out that negative energy, write journals or write letters expressing what really is upsetting you. It helps you sort through what’s going on.</p>
<p>what do you enjoy? cooking? painting? sports of any kind? </p>
<p>If you need to talk to someone, there are many hotlines out there… lemme find them
depression hotline : 1-630-482-9696
or there are many online chatrooms that you can join. Many that I know deal with PTSD and MPD … but I think people there’d be happy to talk to you and listen.</p>
<p>@FantasyVesperia </p>
<p>If OP has depression, its possible that they aren’t sad about anything in particular. It’s a mental condition that makes a person feel hopeless and helpless for days, even weeks on end. Sad or negative events can trigger depression but they aren’t always the cause of it.</p>
<p>… but the term “depressed” is used so freely nowadays its not clear if OP has clinical depression or is simply overwhelmed by their workload. Either way, it is totally OK for them to be seeking therapy.</p>
<p>@ViTong4 Alright.</p>
<p>What ViTong said is true–if you don’t want to go to therapy, it’s not going to do anything for you. However, if you’re readily willing to go, it can be wonderful. I started going a couple months ago to deal with depression and an eating disorder, and it’s done so. much. for me. I’ve made a ton of progress and realized why I was depressed in the first place, and lots of issues I needed to work through. I haven’t been prescribed anything, but I haven’t really needed anything. Just do your research and go to a counselor that works with teens.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Have you seen his username?</p>
<p>Try exercising more and also take cold showers, which activates the blue spot in the brain and alleviates depression.</p>
<p>I used to see a therapist and I find it helpful; even though I wasn’t depressed or suicidal, I really liked going to talk to someone who wasnt directly involved in my life to just talk. It’s really helpful whenever you are feeling stressed or pressured. I’d say try it out and try different ones. It might take you a few tries to find the one you like!</p>
<p>I saw a therapist for a few months last school year, and it was so helpful. ( I was diagnosed with depression) I am much, much, much happier now. </p>
<p>I did not want to go either before my first appointment, but if you really think you are depressed, give it a chance. Have a couple “test run” appointments with a few different therapists to find one you like. Even though you don’t think you want to go, maybe think of it this way; if you’re sick and prescribed gross medicine you don’t want to take, you’re likely still going to take it because you want to get better. Depression is an illness and therapy can be that nasty medicine you don’t want to have to take. But if you want to be healthy again, you have to take the medicine anyway.</p>
<p>Therapy turned my life around. I’d hate to think where I would be without it. Give it a chance, because when you’re depressed, you don’t have a lot to lose, but you have a heck of a lot to gain back.</p>