Just teenage hormones or real depression?
I'm a 7th grader and I don't know whether these things I'm experiencing are just teenage hormones or real depression.
I used to get good grades. For some reason last year I got a bit lazy and as a result, they slipped. Heaven crashed down onto Earth the moment I knew what grades I got for Chinese and Math. 74 and 78. You'd probably think that isn't much, but to me (I had never got grades lower than 80) it was an absolute failure.
I felt stupid. Useless. Like a failure. Like a mistake. My whole life is a mistake. I couldn't be good anymore.
Depression runs in my family and I started experiencing it when I was 10 but it rarely came. Now it's consistently hanging around and making me negative. I even got to the point of self-harm, I just thought my parents would be mad if I killed myself. Yes I typed MAD not sad. My mom says that people who commit suicide are selfish people because they die without thinking about others. If I killed myself, she'd be really really mad. But another reason I didn't cut was because I was afraid of the pain. Pathetic, right? I want to kill myself but I didn't have the guts to do it.
I never sought help from a psychologist or a therapist, it's a stigma here that if you go see a psychologist you have something abnormal going on in your brain. I took some online tests, however, and they all said that I had depression. And I'm not talking about light depression.
Okay, maybe I should get to it. The thing is, I hinted to my mom that I was feeling really emotional and down lately and she brushed it off saying it was teenage hormones and I'd be fine later on. So now I'm confused. Do I have depression or are these just the effect of teenage hormones?
Hi Dream,
Welcome to 7 cups of tea, and thanks for coming aboard. It sounds like you made the right decision to open up and get some help. Just by talking to any of the listeners here, you'll get a better understanding of what's going on with yourself and what you can do to feel better.
I'm sure I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know when I say that what you're experiencing does not sound like simply "teenage hormones". What you're feeling is something that should be taken seriously. Talking to any of the listeners here (www.7cups.com/BrowseListeners/) will be a great start.
We're all here for you, and can provide support whenever you need it.
All the best,
shawn.
That sounds awful. I know how that feels, I went through a similar experience.
People who don't understand the way you're feeling will always brush it off as just teenage hormones. It's a damaging attitude. It makes you feel like your emotions aren't valid when they are. The way you are feeling is important to acknowledge, if you don't you'll end up bottling it up and trying to ignore it until you get stuck in this state where you can't see a way out. You are not abnormal.
We are raised to believe grades are everything, but they're not. There is a life beyond grades. You're not a failure at all lovely. Depression causes our brains to switch off sometimes which makes it hard to put effort into anything anymore. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, you can get better, you can stop feeling this way.
If you really are feeling so low to the point of harm to yourself you should really seek help from someone who can support you. Do you have anyone you trust? Friends? Teachers? You don't have to suffer alone and silent, there are people who will support you and help you.
Take care of yourself okay? You deserve care.
Sending you lots of love - DA