I have dealt with depression for years on/off. These past few months have been the worse. I’ve been scratching my arms and face because it makes me feel better. And I’ve had more and more thoughts of suicide. I haven’t told all of this to my parents, because I don’t know how. But I have said some and it seems like they aren’t really taking it seriously. My father in particular is acting as though I “want to be depressed.” Any help would be amazing thanks.
HELP YOURSELF:
- First of all, thank you so much for making yourself vulnerable and sharing so openly about your depression and self-harm. These past few months have been understandably stressful for a lot of us, just know you are not alone. The TeenCentral community is here for you. This is the first step in helping yourself.
- If your thoughts of suicide ever get so overwhelming, please contact the National Suicide Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 to receive support through your crisis. You can also contact the Crisis Textline by texting “HELLO” to 74174. Both of these resources will offer immediate support for you 24 hours a day. It may be helpful to put those numbers in your cell phone if you have one. Just know that you are never alone, there is always someone that wants you to be here.
- You said that it’s hard to talk to your parents about how you feel, but is there anyone else in your life that you can open up to? If the feelings of sadness and self-harm are overwhelming you, we encourage you to also seek out a therapist that can help you more on a regular basis. Asking your parents or that trusted adult to see a counselor/therapist is a really good step to your recovery.
CONSIDER THIS:
- If you don’t know how to communicate with your parents, let’s brainstorms some ideas of how to start. Grab a pen and paper and answer some of these questions. What do I want my parents to support me through? If I could tell them everything about my thoughts and feelings what would I say? What is it that I need from them? Or simply, how does my depression impact me? Journaling is a really useful tool in getting all of those overwhelming thoughts and feelings out.
- If you click on the “TOOLS” tab on TeenCentral.com, the first tile is a “Depression WorkBook”. This is about 15 pages of short activities that you can do to get those big feelings out. Maybe working on this workbook together with your parents, or a trusted adult will help them see how your sadness and depression is really impacting you. Think of it as homework for your feelings.
- One of the activities in the “Depression WorkBook” talks about positive aspects in your life. So let’s think about some of the things that make you feel happy. What brings you joy in your life? Simple things like being in nature, taking a walk, coloring, chatting with friends? Try doing one of those activities every day. You may start to see that the overwhelming feelings start feeling manageable. When feelings are manageable, you can focus on healing.
