Is it depression?

@athinker

Hi there! I'm glad to see that you are reaching out for help and asking questions about what you are going through. Gaining awareness and seeking support can be helpful ways to cope for some people. It's also very brave of you to openly share your recent experiences, especially considering how you haven't gotten much support from your family.

Unfortunately the listeners at 7 Cups can't diagnose you. While you do have some common symptoms of depression, the people here are not qualified to give a diagnosis. That being said, if you believe you may have depression, there are a number of things you can do.

We have a number of resources here that I encourage you to take advantage of. Our listeners can be a huge help when we need to vent and gain clarity; you can browse for a listener whose expertise is depression here. We also have a self-help guide, which discusses symptoms of depression. If you think this may be useful for you, check it out here. You might also want to do additional research to find out even more about depression, and determine if the symptoms listed feel familiar. While self-diagnosis isn't something I encourage, being awaare of your feelings is something I encourage, as it can make you better equipped to start getting better. Lastly, we also have an online test here that serves to test for and measure depression symptoms, as well as stress, and anxiety. While this also isn't a tool to diagnose you, it might provide some clarity for you. You can find this here.

I know that you said your family isn't supportive of your seeing a counselor, but would they oppose to seeing a doctor? A doctor can provide more in depth treatment options, and can run tests to help determine the cause of your low moods. If you are looking for a diagnosis, the doctor's office is the place to go. I don't know your age or if your family would be nosy and want to know why you were going to the doctor, but if you could make it to one safely, it could prove to be beneficial.

You also might wish to read about how other people gained more support from their families. Perhaps someone else's past experiences could provide you with some ideas on how to move forward, if you wanted to try to prove to them that you are going through more than just a phase of laziness.

Going through the things you have been going through sounds like it would be incredibly stressful, amongst other things, and I'd hate to think of you going through all of this alone. Hopefully you found something from the above to be helpful. I wish you all the best moving forward, and I hope that you will keep us updated on how things are going! ♥

@athinker first of all it's very brave of you to share your feelings this way. Secondly you does have common symptoms of depression however we are not professionals to diagnose wether you are depressed or not. I think it would be better if you would meet a professional and seek out answers.