Hi, I am a 13-year-old girl and I feel completely lost. I feel totally lost and hopeless like there is no reason for me to live. I think I have depression and ADHD I’m not self-diagnosing myself. I want to go to a therapist but I don’t want to tell my parents because they are the reason I’m depressed. All my parents can ask me to do is study, and I want to, but I lost all motivation to do it. I can’t focus on things easily and I easily get distracted. Staying at home with my parents all day since now the pandemic is draining me. I have no idea what to do.
HELP YOURSELF:
- Reaching out to others to say you need help or you are feeling lost and overwhelmed is a really hard thing to do. We are glad you trusted TeenCentral with your story. You are not alone.
- If those feelings ever get too big that you are thinking of harming yourself, it is important that you get help right away. The crisis textline is available 27 hours a day seven days a week to support all individuals in crisis. All you have to do is text “Hello” to 741741 from any cell phone. Its important not to wait. There is always someone here for you.
- It’s a really positive thing that you want to start seeing a therapist. Counselors are there to listen and can help in so many aspects of your life. If your parents aren’t that big of a help, you can always reach out to someone at your school who can point you in a direction of a therapist. Or, try asking a trusted adult, maybe an aunt or uncle, older peer, or neighbor who can connect you with someone in your area.
- Feeling depressed is more than just feeling sad and should not be left alone. Check out the “Depression” page for more info on how to cope, where to turn and also more symptoms of depression. If these things are similar to what you are going through, that is all the more reason to keep communicating about your concerns.
TIME FOR A CHANGE:
Feeling unmotivated is a really hard emotion to shake. It takes intention and hard work. But there are some ways that can help change your mindset.
- FIRST- Set some (small) goals for yourself. These can be things you want to accomplish for the day or week. And on those days when you are feeling really down, these goals might be just getting out of bed in the morning. Any small thing you accomplish throughout the day, praise yourself for it. You are doing a great job! Also- write those goals down somewhere. That will help you hold yourself accountable and see what all you have accomplished.
- SECOND- Time to MOVE! Your body needs to get all of those emotions out. You can help discharge those feelings with movement. This doesn’t have to be anything too involved, set a timer and dance around the living room to your favorite song, or take a 5 minute walk in a safe place. Movement has been proven to help when you are feeling overwhelmed. Try it!
- LASTLY- Try journaling. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but you were able to tell us your story here on TeenCentral. Why not keep that going? Find some quiet space and write about whatever that pops in your head at that moment. They can be your thoughts, your feelings, a letter to yourself (or anyone else). If you need some help you can check out some journal prompts here. Happy writing!
