Am I depressed or just being dramatic?!?

[DemonHeathen]

Hi I’m a high schooler and I don’t know whether or not I’m depressed. I keep all my problems to myself and usually cry myself to sleep. During the day I often have end up exhausted and don’t feel like doing anything I still smile and laugh and play but it doesn’t last long. I hate myself and don’t really know why I’m still trying to do anything. But I’m worried that I’m just being an attention seeker because nothing particularly bad has happened in my life. I feel I may just be dramatic and making this bigger than it is and I’m wondering whether or not I’m actually depressed. I don’t see many reasons why I should be but and I feel there are so many more people who have been through terrible things but I’m just some dramatic attention seeker who is making a big deal out of nothing. What do you think am I actually depressed or just dramatic because I don’t know.

[Nurse_Jenn]

Hi DemonHeathen,

Welcome to the beyondblue forum. It is great to see you reaching out and getting support for what sounds like a confusing situation for you. I am sorry that you crying yourself to sleep at night and that you are exhausted all the time. It is quite common for people to have these types of symptoms. You are not alone.

You have said that you keep your feelings (problems) inside of you. I wonder if you can find a healthy outlet to talk about your feelings so they are not so bottled up? Do you have a parent, close friend, family friend or even teacher that you can reach out to and ask if you can have a chat and explain that your not feeling quite right? Most adults would take this conversation seriously and it may offer you relief in how you are feeling. If not, there are definitely other options available such as seeing the school counsellor or going down to your local headspace centre or even going online to eheadspace and having an online chat with an online counsellor.

To find a centre...

https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/

To use online counselling...

https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace/connect-with-a-clinician/

Kids HelpLine 1800 55 1800

Kids HelpLine Chat https://kidshelpline.com.au/get-help/webchat-counselling

Another option would be to go have a chat with a Doctor. They are skilled and experiencing in looking at your symptoms and then talking about the options you might have to improve how you are feeling.

Before even considering depression, it is important to look at how much sleep you are getting, is your diet balanced (eating the right foods to give you good energy), are you getting enough exercise, and do you have friends or a social outlet that you can rely on? These are all really important to address and may resolve your symptoms.

Keeping a mood diary can be another great way to keep track of your mood and seeing if it improves over time. There are a few great apps called Mood Gym and Daylio that you might try and track your mood.

Getting support sooner rather than later is the best way to assure that you don't get stuck. Let us know what type of support you decide to try. You can continue to use the forum as there will be many others that have ideas and suggestions to help with your experience.

Wishing you the best possible outcome,

Nurse Jenn