Need Advice

[bumbleb33]

Hey all

I've been suffering from depression for about a year. The last 6 months have been the worst. I've taken a break from uni, mostly stayed at home and just had little energy to do anything. But more importantly, I've isolated myself from a lot of my close friends. They have tried to get in touch with me but I stupidly closed my facebook, phone and just ignored any sort of contact. They don't know about my problems and have probably just assumed I found new friends or didn't want to hang out. I've started to feel better recently and have realised how stupid I've been. But I really don't know how to approach them again and I don't want to mention my depression either......can anyone give me some tips? Thank you

[Pixie15]

Hi bumbleb33,

Welcome to the beyondblue forums. The one tip that I have considering your post is to try to reactivate you facebook again. I know there is a feature that says you can deactivate it. I have deactivated several times and it still has been there after a few months. 

Please let me know if you are able to reactivate it or not.

Thanks,

Pixie.

[geoff]

dear Bumble, welcome to BB forum.

People who have had depression know exactly how you feel now and when you felt when you wanted to be by yourself because of your depression.

Some friends are forgiving while others poke their nose up and walk away, not wanting any more contact with you, but this you won't find out until you try and see who these people are.

It's quite reasonable to explain that you had a period where you felt as though you couldn't cope so you just went away for awhile, some will say that they would have gone with you, and you can answer that how you feel, as each person will be different as long as it's on the same agenda.

What I would like you to do is think about any of these 'friends' who may have intimidated you which could have been one reason why you had depression, in which case you should avoid contact with them.

If these friends are from uni, then perhaps you could go to uni and tell them that you have decided to defer your course for reasons that you don't know whether it's for you.

Just filter back slowly so you're not overwhelmed by too many people. Geoff.

[Doolhof]

Hi Bumbleb33,

I too would like to welcome you to Beyond Blue and the Community here. As Geoff has mentioned, so many of us here certainly understand the isolation we feel when in a state of depression.

The great thing is that you recognise what you have been through and you are wanting to regain contact with people. That is excellent.

If you don't feel comfortable with mentioning the word "Depression" then maybe you could tell people you were having a bit of a rough time, you are over that now and would like to catch up.

Try phoning a couple of people you would most like to catch up with and have a chat, organise to get together sometime and see what happens.

You could reconnect with Facebook and connect your phone. Just post a message on Facebook something like "Hi, I am Back!" and see what happens.

When you are comfortable with your friends again, you may feel open enough to mention your depression. Some of them may have had similar experiences or know people who have!

Building up a network of people who can help you if you are in that situation again can be very helpful!

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools