Hi, I am now 21 and can remember having spells of depression from when I was 12/13 onwards and up to the present day. I know this isn't lifelong but I am beginning to feel like it may be becoming a lifelong battle with the illness. I am always trying things to help eleviate the symptoms of my depression. They can be small things like having a bath with lots of bubbles, or thinking about all the small things that I like and love. These may sound like silly things but can sometimes bring me a lot of comfort in a bad spell. It all depends upon how bad I am feeling.

Treating the root of depression takes longer.So while I am ploughing the depths of my psyche to try and figure out 'where it all went wrong' and how to change my life into a happier and healthier one - I try to indulge in simple pleasures. Nature and animals are fantastic healers of depression. If you can bring yourself closer to nature you can also bring yourself closer to happiness.

Always remember that you are a wonderful human being and have achieved so much in your life to be proud of. We are all animals with our flaws but they help to make us who we are and shape our characters.

I feel I am in danger of beginning to sound a bit trippie hippie so will leave it at that.

Take care x
p.s.gentle yoga and meditation has definetly made a great difference to my mood and if you haven't tried out a class yet I would recommend it!

I have been struggling with depression and anxiety and inferiority complex and extreme shyness for 21 years of my life, and guess what, i am 21 right now. I know no happiness, only suicidal thoughts bring some relief- that I can end my pain! Still i m not that kind of a person who would do that. I dunno what to do GOD****IT!!

Beleive in God and ask him to bless you. There is a lot of bad in this world to get us down. But reach out to others, take care of yourself, with vitamins,eating healthy exercising, get around other positive people. Sometimes this is the biggest problem, if you were born to a negative family like mine. Almost destroyed my family but turned it around with God. Tell yourself good things about you. I'm going through a lot, too. I'm dtermined to make a go of this life to the end. Get rid of the bad junk and say yes to the good. I had to accept me as me. Some people seem to have it all. But I learned even the best looking, rich, popular people have hard lives. Reach out and learn to enjoy the simple things.

Yes, I ncan relate. I have battled this monster all my life. As I think back it was a gradual process as far back as kindergarten and probably before that because I always thought I was normal and everyone felt the same thing.Around the age of 14 I began to realize that I was struggling to an extent, I was not happy. In thinking back even at the age of 3 I was happy but I felt empty, like a glass 1/4 full maybe but thought it was normal. Never in my life have I ever felt 100%. I have gone through my whole life feeling lost and empty inside though I have hidden it well. I long for the day when it is legal to walk into a clinic, pay a fee and be euthanized humanely.

Becka I feel for you but know there is hope. Cbt is what helped me and has changed the lives of many others. It takes some effort but it pays offs in a lot more enjoyment of your daily life.

Here's a thread with several positive posts about CBT and other success stories.
http://ehealthforum.com/health/topic62490. html

Good luck!

Hi, I am 17 years old and I cannot honestly remember a time when I did not feel depressed. Even in 1st grade I began thinking and wondering about suicide, and as I grow older it seems to become worse. I eat very healthy and exercise, which are supposed to make people feel better, but because of my perfectionist nature I have turned them against me - with anorexia and excessive, compulsive exercise. These disorders have affected my depression even further, but I'd rather have them now than go back to my previous lifestyle of secluding myself in my room all day playing video games.

I have always been a bit of a "loner" in my life. I have several close friends in and outside of school, but I prefer to spend my time alone. My mom and I used to be extremely close too, but I can feel myself pulling away from her (part of that might be a normal teenage-girl impulse, though). Ironically, I feel an unwavering sense of loyalty to my friends and those that I love, and would do anything for them, but being around them for too long makes me irritable and flustered. I have also been diagnosed with sociophobia.

I do not know what else to do. I take Paxil, I have a therapist, and I tell my mom (almost) everything. The only thing I don't tell them her about are my increasing thoughts of suicide, and also their increasing intensity. I'm afraid of hurting my mom emotionally and anyone else around me (who cares about me), and as long as I do have at least one person who cares about me, I will not kill myself. The one thing I do suggest for anyone who is depressed is to get a pet. My cat Dylan makes me happier than anyone else by far. It is his unconditional and pure love that gives me a glimpse of any happiness in life. I'm more of a cat person, but dogs are great too because they express their love for people even more vividly than cats (except for mine! Haha). But anyway, good luck to anyone else out there that suffers with depression on a daily basis. All I can do to help is send out my empathy and sympathy to them.

I have been extremely depressed for the past 10-15 years but I know where it all comes from, and unfortunately there is no way to take back or fix what has happened, leaving me alone and depressed, it sux and only time will tell what happens to me, probably nothing good or happy : (

Foxy and helpme there is hope. You need to deal with the thoughts that cause you to feel suicidal. Anything else is just treating the symptoms and not the cause of the problem just like we treat colds but at least they run their course and depression won't just run its course. Read the cbt book by Sam Obitz called Been There, Done That? Do This! and try doing the exercises like the TEA form and putting things back into perspective exercise. It has a couple of good chapters specifically about suicidal thoughts and even has examples of using the TEA form to eliminate those thoughts. Until you deal with your thoughts and change them to be more accurate you won't feel better.

Right, I completely agree johnR. Not confronting and dealing with our suicidal thoughts will not solve anything. I haven't tried reading this book, but I will definitely check it out. The problem I have is that I acknowledge these feelings, and my therapist and I talk about them, but neither of us can come to a conclusion on why I feel this way. Maybe the book will help?

Hi Foxy,
I think if you use the exercises in the book they well help you find out which thinking errors are causing your problems and then you will be able attack them directly and probably receive substantial relief. I always found talking about my probs with my therapist felt good while I was there but kept me going in circles with no resolution. Once I learned how to identify my thinking errors and counter them I gained the relief i was searching for.

How's it going Foxy? Did you try the exercises and have they helped you? I hope they have

I'm 23, not life long or anything, but I've experienced anxiety (social anxiety) and depression since I was about 11 or 12 years old. I absolutely hate my life, and hope to God up in Heaven that I won't live a long life on earth. My anxiety effects me in social situations, thus being social anxiety. My depression has always been based on my physical appearance. I've always hated my looks with a passion. My personality also depresses me. I'm not out going or fun to be around. I'm very quiet and serious, and I barely ever laugh at anything, despite how funny it's meant to be. If I live over 30, I swear I'm going to committ suicide. The End.

Ryoga,
Please know there is plenty of help available to you. How old are you? Things are rarely as bad as they seem and things do change so please do not give up hope!

hi ryoga, i'm in the same situation. im a 24 yr old male and i'm currently experiencing severe depression and pretty bad aniexty around social situations, there is help out there but a lot of it must come from you to be beat it. theres not much in my life i enjoy. but as other people suggested geting out in nature (i combine it with photography) is a great way to combat depression and aniexty.

Great points