Feeling Depressed Lately?

Are you feeling sad lately? Do you feel like crying just too often?Sheeba Shamsudeen provides insights to help you pull through. Read on! The teenage years can be real tough, and it’s perfectly normal to feel sad or irritable every now and then. But if these feelings don’t go away or become so intense that you can’t handle them, you may be suffering from depression. You have more power over depression than you think. As it is said, it’s all in the mind. There are many things that you can do yourself, a personal effort, to get over those blues. You can even help a friend to start feeling better. Depression is far more common among the teens of today than you may actually think. There really is a lot of hope and help on the horizon. People love and care about you, no matter what you believe about it. The best thing aboutgetting over depression is to hold the courage to talk about it – it can and will be resolved that way. It usually helps when we talk about our worries with someone who will listen and care, any close person or a trained professional who can guide you towards feeling better. Different people experience depression differently and it is hard to put it in words how depression feels.

There are however some common problems andsymptoms that teens experience during depression.
• You feel irritable, sad and angry (depressed!)
• Nothing seems to be fun and you don’t see the point of trying
• You feel worthless and guilty, wrong in some way and feel bad about yourself
• You sleep too much or not enough at all
• Rapid loss or gain of weight (without consciously trying to)• Anything and everything makes you cry
• Frequent unexplained headaches or other physical problems
• Lack of concentration (and that shows in your grades)
• Feeling of helplessness and hopelessness
• You are thinking about death or suicide
If your feelings become so overwhelming that you can’t see any solution besides harming yourself or others, you need to get help right away. And yet, asking for help when you’re in the midst of such strong emotions can be really tough. But there are a few suggestions which can help get through until you feel you are ready to talk to someone.
• If you have suicidal thoughts and if you feel that all hope is lost, then listen to this: There is always another solution, even if you can’t see it right now. No matter how horrible you feel, these emotions will eventually pass. So hold on and you will realise that there is another way out.
• Having thoughts of hurting yourself or others does not make you a bad person. Depression may make you feel out of character. As long as you are brave enough to talk about your feelings, no one should judge you or condemn you.
• If your feelings are uncontrollable, tell yourself to wait 24 hours before you take any action. This gives you the time to think things through. It also distances you from the strong emotions.
• If you’re afraid you can’t control yourself, make sure you are never alone. Stay in public places; hang out with friends or family members – anything that will keep you away from being on your own or danger
. Above all, do not do anything that could result in permanent damage or death to yourself or others. Remember, suicide is a "permanent solution to a temporary problem." Help is available. All you need to do is to take that first step and reach out. To feel better, ask for help if you’re stressed, try not to isolate yourself, remember that you are not alone, keep your body healthy and avoid alcohol and drugs. Depression is not your fault, and you didn’t do anything to cause it. However, you do have some control over feeling better. Stay connected to friends and family, share your feelings with someone you trust, and make healthy lifestyle decisions. This will have a huge positive impact on your mood and make you feel good and not so depressed after all.
                                                                                                                                                                  Sheeba Shamsudeen
                                                                                                                                                                  BA (Journalism, Psychology &
                                                                                                                                                                  English)