Don’t take it personally, whatever your kid does, because they’re just feeling really bad inside. They’re not doing it to you, they’re just doing it because they’re kids and because they’re depressed or they’re bipolar. My mom was always calm and whenever I got angry she would say something like, “If you don’t feel safe here you might feel safe in the hospital” and she would remind me of what I was getting into. Because when you’re angry you’re often impulsive. Parents should just stay calm and not get angry back. I don’t think they should get angry at the depression, I just think they should try to get help for their kid.
My Advice: Get Help
My advice for other kids is get help when you need it. Kids get scared to get help because they don’t think it will be better and they are scared and may be afraid people will laugh at them.
Suggestions and Hope for Depressed People
Take the medication you are prescribed exactly as your doctor tells you. If you had strep throat, chances are that you would take the prescribed antibiotics as directed. That’s not to say you definitely won’t experience any uncomfortable side effects, and if you do, be sure to tell your doctor. A good psychiatrist will listen attentively to you when you speak, both about possible side effects from medication as well as to your thoughts and feelings. If he or she seems to be paying closer attention to the clock ticking off the fifty minute session than to you, find another doctor. You deserve better.
If you are fortunate enough to have close friends or relatives you feel you can confide in to discuss your depression, go ahead and do so, but use discretion and save the really detailed elements for your therapist.
Remember that you know yourself better than anyone. That doesn’t mean don’t be open minded to different ways a therapist may suggest for viewing yourself, but if he or she says something you know to be way off track, tell the therapist. If the therapist fails to consider your point of view, again, go find yourself another doctor. Trust your instincts. You may be depressed, but you still have your intelligence and that must be respected. Please remember to always be your own best advocate, and if you are too ill to do so, find a relative who will fill this role for you.
Don’t put yourself down in front of others. With your therapist you should certainly admit how bad you feel about yourself, but remember that old saying about not being a doormat because people will walk all over you.
Try to keep the clutter to a minimum in your living and work space. When you are depressed, your mind is already cluttered and unclear; it is helpful to have organized surroundings. Not that you have to be neat as a pin. Surround yourself with objects that comfort you. If you have no one to hold you and you need to be held, wrap yourself in a thick comforter. The gentle pressure can be soothing, as can warm water in a bathtub.
Doing a craft or art project can be helpful, too. I am certainly no artist, but I do find doing paint by number canvases helpful. And this does not have to be a silly, paint the fluffy bunny pink project. Right now I’m doing a multicolored, very detailed artist’s rendering of London in the fall. I think what’s helpful about paint by numbers is seeing and using color (in my worst depressions, all of my senses get dulled) and maybe more importantly, gives me a sense of control. Depression can make your world feel like it is spinning out of control and literally staying within the lines and creating something pleasant can feel like an accomplishment.
When your depression lifts, and you will get respites, if not total recovery, you will feel a happiness and contentment that people who have never experienced major depression probably don’t know. I think it’s very much like a baseball player who swings a bat with weights on it, and once the weights are taken off, he feels a lightness that batters who haven’t swung with the weights on don’t experience.
Everyone is a Beautiful Person
Hey! Thank you for taking the time to read this, because now I know you are safe for the time it takes you to read my story and hear some advice. I have from being trapped in a depressed cage for almost two years. First, here is my story. It started for me when I came out to myself. You may or may not relate but here are symptoms of depression you may be experiencing. Weight loss or gain, sadness crying for no reason, and getting tired really easily. That’s what happened to me I would get so exhausted. I wouldn’t eat, I wouldn’t hang out, I would just sit and cry. If this is happening to you it is not okay. You can get help at school with a counselor like I did or talk to your family. Help is out there waiting.
Back to my story. I came out to myself and then to those around me getting immense support and guidance from the people that really mattered the most to me you get to see who your real friends are. Once you accept yourself and realize who you are, because everyone is a beautiful person, you will be okay too. Drugs, sexual abuse, eating disorders all of these self esteem problems causing depression can be helped with a therapist. And your therapist may prescribe a medicine to help you and that’s okay. He or she may also recommend a hospital, that can be scary, but you can do it because it helped me and now I get to feel better. Don’t be ashamed about your depression people will understand that you’re going through a hard time and they will just be glad to support you, especially after you learn new coping skills to help you manage.