How do I know when I'm depressed? How can I tell if a friend is depressed? First, there are two kinds of depression: The sad kind, called major depression and manic-depression or bipolar illness. If you or a friend has had several of the depression symptoms, and they've lasted several weeks, or cause a big change in your routine, you should talk to someone who can help, like a school Counselor, Student Support Coordinator, YKHC Village Wellness Counselor, or a YKHC Clinician! Your
school’s Natural Helpers can connect you with someone who can help you.
If You Have Manic-Depression... You feel high as a kite... like you're "on top of the world". You get unreal ideas about the great things you can do... things that you really can't do. Thoughts go racing through your head; you jump from one subject to another, and you talk a lot, sometimes
very quickly. You're a nonstop party, constantly running around. You do too many wild or risky things: with driving, with spending money, with sex, etc. You're so "wired" that you don't need much sleep or you don't sleep at all some nights. You're rebellious or irritable and can't
get along at home or school, at work, or with your friends and family. |
Everyone feels sad now and then, but if you're sad most of the time, or if you feel 'down' more than you feel okay, ask yourself if being sad is giving you any problems with: your grades, school or work your ability to
concentrate your relationships with your family and friends controlling your behavior in other ways alcohol, drugs, or sex If you said yes to all of these, the problem may be depression.
When You're Depressed... You feel sad or cry a lot and it doesn't go away. You feel guilty for no real reason; you feel like you're no good; you've lost your confidence. Life seems meaningless or like nothing good is ever going to happen again. You have a negative attitude a lot of the time, or it seems like you have no feelings. You don't feel like doing a lot of the things you used to like -- like music, sports, being with friends, going out -- and you want to be left alone most of the time. It's hard to make up your mind. You forget lots of things, and it's hard to concentrate. You get irritated often. Little things make you lose your temper; you overreact. Your sleep pattern changes; you start sleeping a lot more or you have trouble falling asleep at night. Or you wake up really early most mornings and can't get back to sleep. Your eating habits change; you've lost your appetite or you eat a lot more. You feel restless and tired most of the time. You think about death, or feel like you're dying, or have thoughts about committing suicide. |
