Depression - Teen Support Group
Teen depression is marked by persistent sadness, discouragement, loss of self-worth, and loss of interest in usual activities. Depression can be a temporary response to many situations and stresses. Teens may be more susceptible to depression due to the normal maturation process, the stress associated with it, and conflicts with parents as they become more independent.
There's a long story behind why I say this.
I was homeschooled for 8 years before I started going to public school in eighth grade. I had been in hand for a year before that, so I knew a lot of people in school who I thought were pretty school.
But as the months went by after starting public school, I began to see how much pain and anguish went around my friends, whether it was from fighting families or broken hearts or friend drama. The worst part was how everyone else treated it. They turned their backs on the pain and turned a blind eye to those who needed help.
I used to suffer from a mental condition that caused me to have awful stomach pains almost every night. I went to see a therapist about it, but she just didn't seem to understand. What I really wanted was a friend who would listen and try to understand and hug me and tell me that it would all be ok. I recently remembered those awful days when all I wanted was a friend who would listen to me. I never want anyone to feel the pain I felt when all I wanted was someone to just sit down and listen to me.
Because I have a knack of reading people and listening and offering advice when people need it, I'm known as my friends' therapist. But I've been listening to so much pain and listening to sobs of sadness and watching tears roll down their faces, I've begun to lose faith. I love my friends so much that I can't turn my back on them. It's drained me. I'm always sad and frustrated and tired. I've lost all hope that I'll ever be happy and can only hope that I'm helping those people who I tried so hard to get to smile without tears in their eyes.
I can't turn my back on something or someone in pain, whether it's a hurt animal or a broken heart. I don't want to have a cold heart. I don't want to be like practically everyone else in this school who looks at a girl who's crying, then looks away. I don't want to be the person who asks a friend if they're ok when they're clearly not and drop it and turn my back when they say "I'm fine." I want to be that person who can turn their day around. I want to be that person to run back and help them when no one else will.
But more than anything, I don't want to become the people despise. There are too many people around me who are exactly like the people I despise. I have morals and ethics and rules I follow to be a good person. But I have no faith in my friends anymore because I've looked at horrible people or too long.
I'm frustrated, I'm tired, I feel worthless and hopeless...I feel like I'll never be happy again. Can someone out there please help me?
-Rachel
I was homeschooled for 8 years before I started going to public school in eighth grade. I had been in hand for a year before that, so I knew a lot of people in school who I thought were pretty school.
But as the months went by after starting public school, I began to see how much pain and anguish went around my friends, whether it was from fighting families or broken hearts or friend drama. The worst part was how everyone else treated it. They turned their backs on the pain and turned a blind eye to those who needed help.
I used to suffer from a mental condition that caused me to have awful stomach pains almost every night. I went to see a therapist about it, but she just didn't seem to understand. What I really wanted was a friend who would listen and try to understand and hug me and tell me that it would all be ok. I recently remembered those awful days when all I wanted was a friend who would listen to me. I never want anyone to feel the pain I felt when all I wanted was someone to just sit down and listen to me.
Because I have a knack of reading people and listening and offering advice when people need it, I'm known as my friends' therapist. But I've been listening to so much pain and listening to sobs of sadness and watching tears roll down their faces, I've begun to lose faith. I love my friends so much that I can't turn my back on them. It's drained me. I'm always sad and frustrated and tired. I've lost all hope that I'll ever be happy and can only hope that I'm helping those people who I tried so hard to get to smile without tears in their eyes.
I can't turn my back on something or someone in pain, whether it's a hurt animal or a broken heart. I don't want to have a cold heart. I don't want to be like practically everyone else in this school who looks at a girl who's crying, then looks away. I don't want to be the person who asks a friend if they're ok when they're clearly not and drop it and turn my back when they say "I'm fine." I want to be that person who can turn their day around. I want to be that person to run back and help them when no one else will.
But more than anything, I don't want to become the people despise. There are too many people around me who are exactly like the people I despise. I have morals and ethics and rules I follow to be a good person. But I have no faith in my friends anymore because I've looked at horrible people or too long.
I'm frustrated, I'm tired, I feel worthless and hopeless...I feel like I'll never be happy again. Can someone out there please help me?
-Rachel
A lot of people have so much pain in their own lives they can't take anyone elses. You want to help everybody. And I hope you stay that way. Cause the world needs you. You're like the soul of humanity. It is very draining as well. But maybe you don't have to save everyone. Maybe one person is enough. Maybe by saving one person, you have saved the world.
Keep that heart of yours. And if you ever ever need to talk, ask. I know that you're a helper not really a helpie, but still,it's okay to ask for an ear.
You can get so burnt out by taking on other people's problems that you lose yourself in there somewhere.
There are books available that might help you to figure out how you can kindly say when you need some time to recharge your batteries without turning away from people.
You won't be able to help others if you have no energy left. These books are about being "codependent". I think all of us are in some way but there are books that give you strategies to be kind to others and also to be kind to yourself.
Try the internet or your local library to see if you find something that might sound like it's what you're doing. Couldn't hurt.
Good luck.