Depression Support Group

Are you around others at all in Real Life? Dont know how alone you are in this context? Like you I struggle with loneliness and lived most of my childhood without much love.. Sad that you cant afford to go for therapy...This really sucks..because it's what we really need. I am waiting for therapy and know it will be hard.. I dont think I will ever feel part of things here..but do find it helps at times to be around others who understand the pain of mental illness.. I am sorry you feel like death is your only way out.. I have thought this many times also.. I feel your pain and isolation and this really hit a nerve with me.. I'm glad you posted this...Please dont feel like you should apologise for posting something so relevant to most of us here..Please keep fighting and believing..Hope you can get the support and help you obviously need.. Peace!!!

People who aren't lonley just don't get how bad it hurts. They also don't get how hard it is to end the lonliness by finding friends. I'm there with you, I get it.

I don't know what county you live in, but most of them have a Public Dept. of Health that will arrange for you to see a therapist at no charge.

If you want to send me a PM with more information on where you live, I'll help you try to find help.

I haven't read any of the other reply's yet so forgive me if I repeat.
First of all, please do not feel you have to apologize for speaking your heart. Yes, the tiredness will come with the depression, they seem to go hand in hand. If you came here 3 years ago and nothing happened, maybe you were too afraid to open yourself up enough for others to get to know you. I know for a fact that 3 years ago there were kind and understanding people here. They are still here after 5 or more years. Has the feeling of being unloved/unwanted lead to your depression, or has your depression let you to believe you are unloved and unwanted? I can't afford counseling either but one of these days, it will come my way. And I will take it. YOU WILL meet friends here and you will find answers, you just have to give us a chance and not just log on now and again. Death is definitely not the solution by any means. Trust me on that. Don't even go there please!!! I am having a really hard time dealing with the death from suicide with my ex husband and it hurts so bad. We would like to get to know you, see how we can help, and see you start making friends, okay?

Wynfrith I hope you see this because I want to thank you for the hug you sent me. Hugs to you too.

I want to thank you all for your replies so far.

Lets see where to start. I'm not totally alone since I do have 2 sisters and a good boss I work for who is my only friend but he is a lot older than me. I have no friends my age and have never been in any kind of a relationship. The only good parent I had was my mother and she passed away when I was in high school. My dad was a drunk and I spent 12 yrs with my sisters taking care of him before he finally passed away.

I was always shy growing up which later on turned into social anxiety which forced me into a sheltered life. After I turned 40 is when the loneliness really hit me I guess you can call it my mid-life crisis when I started to feel that I would never find someone to share my life with and that's when the depression began to set in. I found this site over 3 yrs ago and I may have posted something here back then but I can't remember. I've been on DS regularly but have come to realize that I seem to repel people not attract them. It's just that lately it's been really difficult keeping everything bottled up inside with no one to talk too. I guess that's why I posted here. Anyways there you have it in a nut shell and thanks for listening.

Maybe you won't be forever alone - maybe it is just how you are feeling and it is the depression talking. Depression will say things like that. I know it is really hard, but try to not believe what your mind is telling you when it gets that negative, because depression lies! Living with health issues and pain, on top of depression makes it harder to meet people, but not impossilble. I wonder if there are any free support grroups at the hospital in your area? Also, there might be mental health support groups. Maybe start calling therapist offices, just to check out community resources. There maybe a 12 step program that relates to an area you need support in as well. These are just some possible ideas, since you said affording therapy is out for now. Hugs.

The depression can really zap your will to do anything. It's a constant struggle for many of us. Dancing Toes has a great point regarding mental health association support groups. Many local MHA offer free groups in the evenings. And DHS can arrange for therapist visits for little or no charge if you qualify for financial assistance.

I can't speak to your experience - but I can speak from mine. Over the last several years I've come to realize that another person cannot make me happy. As much as I've tried. As much as I wanted it, it just does not happen that way. The best relationships start when two people want to share each other, not NEED each other. I know it may sound bad, but now realize that I have to love myself, take care of myself and do what's best for me before I can even consider finding a partner. This was an extremely difficult idea for me to come to terms with. It meant I had to take responsibility for me. It meant facing fears and emotional turmoil that I had been running from my whole life.

That's what I have to do to escape my feeling of loneliness. In essence, I have to be able to be at ease and okay with the loneliness. Realize that I can be okay alone. That I am a human being, deserving of my own compassion and that of others. And that once I can be okay with who I am, including accepting all my faults and ugly thoughts as well as my strengths and beautiful thoughts, then it won't matter if I'm alone. I will have experiences. And I will gravitate towards people to share those experiences with. And they will gravitate towards me.

Took me almost 40 years to figure that out. Yes I'm shy. I'm an introvert. I hate social situations, I hate being around people, crowds, all of it makes me nervous. Being around strangers makes me nervous. But I know that I perpetuate my loneliness by withdrawing. And that I have to face my fears to move forward. I don't have to overcome them. Just admit them at first. Then ask myself, so what? What is the worst thing that can happen to me? Versus what will happen if I stick with my current status quo.

I hope this is of some help. Even for those of us that are "stable" it is a daily struggle. Just know that you are not alone. Try to find other outlets of support. This group alone can only provide so much. There is a wealth of people out there that want to help. Seek them out.

Something that worked for me a while, but I can't take with my current medication is St. Johns Wort. If you google about it, it is a great way to help the depression. The suggested amount on the actual bottle is not enough to make a dent in someone that is really depressed. If you look up the measurements to make ti prescription strength, than follow that. Its actually written out as a prescription overseas.

I wrote some things in journal entry that may help. http://www.dailystrength.org/people... What about joining a social support group non virtual?