I'm so down...

[Danny]

Lately I've been feeling depressed.
I've started to rarely feel much emotion to things, and I just feel really empty.

I know that may be difficult to comprehend if you've never felt it.
I feel like there's nothing I have to look forward to.
Change of almost any kind sets off this as well. I thin it's because subconciously I'm convinced that whatever it is, it's gone and will never be back.

I don't really know why I feel like this so often, but I was wondering if anyone's felt like this before, and whether anyone can give me any tips to help me.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[VIPFREAK]

I've been in your situation for a long time now. It was scary that I don't have emotions that much toward things. It's even scarier now because I don't care. I have ideas why I'm this way and I guess I just have to deal with them to get out of the rut I'm in as my friends would say. All I can recommend is just try and force yourself to do the things that bring you pleasure. For instance at the moment it would be playing FEAR, drawing or doing Photoshop. I'd also recomemend keep doing the physical exercise you were doing and if you arn't then start because the more you stay inactive the worse you feel.

As for not being able to looking forward to anything it's mostly because I've been feeling like I've been going no where or backwards particulary in school. Since I don't have any goals and I have no idea what I'm going to do to be able to live life as I get older it makes it that much harder to have goals or want to look forward.

I'm not saying I don't have any friends but the friends I do have are pretty much all married so doing things often with them is pretty hard. I find that when I'm with them I do feel better about things and not worry about stuff.

I guess I can expand later but it's real late... erm early so I should go to sleep.

 

[Anderton Prime]

How old are you ultrabeat? Do you have a girlfriend, have you been to university or are you preparing to go, do you have any hobbies?

I find when I have nothing to do and few friends to hang out with, depression seems to fill in my spare time. It's hard to overcome, but the best solution I have found is to keep busy. Whether it's finding a job that you work longer than normal hours or taking up a hobby you can occupy yourself with a few nights a week, you might want to try it.

Also, having a friend, girlfriend, or family member you can talk to about your feelings and maybe even cry in front of a little is an invaluable asset.

 

[Lee]

Sit down with your parents and have a good chat about it, see if theres anything they can suggest.

The one consistant suggestion on the thread is probably the best, Take up a hobby, chill out with some pals, generally just get out the house.

If it gets any worse there are plenty of sites/phonelines that may have some good ideas.

Hope you feel good again soon dude 👍

 

[Diego440]

those feelings you have describe the becoming of an emo... beware! Before you know it, you'll be cutting yourself!

but seriously, if you're a teenager, it's quite normal to feel down... we all do at some point or another. Support, friends and the right conversations help you get along.

 

[Danny]

I've been in your situation for a long time now. It was scary that I don't have emotions that much toward things. It's even scarier now because I don't care. I have ideas why I'm this way and I guess I just have to deal with them to get out of the rut I'm in as my friends would say. All I can recommend is just try and force yourself to do the things that bring you pleasure. For instance at the moment it would be playing FEAR, drawing or doing Photoshop. I'd also recomemend keep doing the physical exercise you were doing and if you arn't then start because the more you stay inactive the worse you feel.

As for not being able to looking forward to anything it's mostly because I've been feeling like I've been going no where or backwards particulary in school. Since I don't have any goals and I have no idea what I'm going to do to be able to live life as I get older it makes it that much harder to have goals or want to look forward.

I'm not saying I don't have any friends but the friends I do have are pretty much all married so doing things often with them is pretty hard. I find that when I'm with them I do feel better about things and not worry about stuff.

I guess I can expand later but it's real late... erm early so I should go to sleep.

Thanks for the advice.

How old are you ultrabeat? Do you have a girlfriend, have you been to university or are you preparing to go, do you have any hobbies?

16,Yes,No,Yes and Music.

I find when I have nothing to do and few friends to hang out with, depression seems to fill in my spare time. It's hard to overcome, but the best solution I have found is to keep busy. Whether it's finding a job that you work longer than normal hours or taking up a hobby you can occupy yourself with a few nights a week, you might want to try it.

Also, having a friend, girlfriend, or family member you can talk to about your feelings and maybe even cry in front of a little is an invaluable asset.

I don't really feel close enough to my parents to share deeper inner feelings. I share with my friends sometimes though.

Sit down with your parents and have a good chat about it, see if theres anything they can suggest.

The one consistant suggestion on the thread is probably the best, Take up a hobby, chill out with some pals, generally just get out the house.

If it gets any worse there are plenty of sites/phonelines that may have some good ideas.

Hope you feel good again soon dude 👍

Thanks Lee, but I don't know what, if anything is really wrong.

those feelings you have describe the becoming of an emo... beware! Before you know it, you'll be cutting yourself!

You're a dead man Diego...

but seriously, if you're a teenager, it's quite normal to feel down... we all do at some point or another. Support, friends and the right conversations help you get along.

It's good to know there are many others in the same boat.


Thanks for all the input so far guys.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Ultrabeat, Where do you live? and also answer the questions that Anderton asked.
I get this exact same way every winter since I moved to Michigan. Its such an overwhelming depression that its scary at times.
Dont feel bad its not just you. I really have a hard time dealing with depression in the winter and I am an optimistic, happy person too. On top of that I feel I have an extremely happy life with anything I have ever wanted but still find myself depressed but only in the winter. When summer comes I am sooo happy again.
Like mentioned above, friends, girlfriends, family, hobbies all of those help to deal with it. It helps a lot to talk about it too. 👍
This site also helps a lot but some times it has a negative effect.

 

[Mark T]

I think everyone suffers depression at random intervals. I started a new job this as a Lettings Manager & it's been really busy. I work minimum 60 hrs week (9.00am till 7pm usually) and after a while it can really start to get you down. Sometimes I just want to go home, play GT, read a book, do some photoshops but I just don't get the time off. I also see my partner most week nights (a full time job on its own). Then I have to fit in time to see friends & family.

I get depressed because I have so much to do, but so little time.

 

[Cobra_UK]

Don't be scared. It's the first thing. It happens/has happened to all of us.

The things that bring depression are very many and can be very varied. For example: lack of confidence or self-esteem, unhappy childhood, time of year, boredom, lack of enough emotional outlet and human contact, uncertainty about the future, society decline, loss of loved one... There are many other reasons and a good start would be to find what makes you feel this way.

Some things to watch out for. Computer and video games are becoming a more and more impressive virtual reality. In this world extremes of emotions can be achieved much easier than in real life. Contact with other people is far different in online games to real life also. The same goes for participating in forums. The danger is that real life may become boring. Don't be fooled, the better this virtual reality becomes the more addictive it can be. Just like drugs it can seriously affect your life.

Some advice: Exercise, perhaps find a sport you like, get some fresh air and sunlight. Talk more to your friends and family. Plan things to do, so that you're not stuck in the house. Some fruit can increase your positive disposition, bananas for example.

Good luck and I hope you feel better.

 

[Anderton Prime]

I also get depressed in the winter, and we haven't even had any real snow so far this year in Canada. There is a real disorder that hundreds of thousands of people suffer from, it's called Seasonal Depression Disorder or something (I think the acronym is SADS or SADDS or something). Maybe you could talk to your doctor...

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

I also get depressed in the winter, and we haven't even had any real snow so far this year in Canada. There is a real disorder that hundreds of thousands of people suffer from, it's called Seasonal Depression Disorder or something (I think the acronym is SADS or SADDS or something). Maybe you could talk to your doctor...

It doesn't help at all looking out the window and all you see is death. Dead looking brown trees with no leaves. No grass because its all brown and dead. No flowers, no birds, nothing. Then to top that off its soo cold. It does help when we at least have snow on the ground because it looks so nice but when there is no snow its just sooo depressing looking. The only color you see are cars.
My friend takes pills in the winter from his doctor for the Sads or whatever that is.
In the winter I really like to visit the Photomode thread a lot. Really really cheers me up seeing all the colorful backround pictures. 👍

 

[ND4SPD]

Ahh good old teen depression. I've been through it, except it was for a whole different reason. Seriously though, hang out with friends, go out and have some fun with people. Being around friends and being quite social is the best way to raise your spirit. Trust me thats probably the best thing you can do.

 

[Anderton Prime]

It doesn't help at all looking out the window and all you see is death. Dead looking brown trees with no leaves. No grass because its all brown and dead. No flowers, no birds, nothing. Then to top that off its soo cold. It does help when we at least have snow on the ground because it looks so nice but when there is no snow its just sooo depressing looking. The only color you see are cars.
My friend takes pills in the winter from his doctor for the Sads or whatever that is.
In the winter I really like to visit the Photomode thread a lot. Really really cheers me up seeing all the colorful backround pictures. 👍

I love how in movies about the future people always have these big full-wall screens in their homes that they can tune to a spring or summer landscape and enjoy the sights and sounds.

I remember hearing that the main reason for seasonal depression is all about the sun. We don't get enough of it in winter, and one of the most popular solutions is to buy a lamp that emits ultra-violet light and keep it on all day, so you can absorb the light and (theoretically) feel better.

I'd rather try that before getting on a regimen of pills and medication.

 

[FoolKiller]

Ultrabeat, I understand how you feel. I went through some of that in high school. The teenage years are tough. Getting down is natural. I was even put on an anti-depressant for about a year.

I can tell you that you should just remember that whatever your problems are they will pass or you can adapt to them. I'm speaking from experience.

I remember being angry at the world, being depressed by what the world around me has become, and feeling nothing. I began to feel nothing around the same age you are. I honestly believe it was part of me beginning to mature (what little bit I did) and trying to figure out my place in this world. None of the career possibilities I looked at seemed to have a point. I even asked my mom how she could be a secretary knowing that her job was meaningless when it came to having an effect on society. Everything seemed pointless and everyone seemed stupid. Even school seemed like it had no point.

Pretty much at 16 your body is doing crazy stuff (aside from the visible) and the chemical balances are being thrown off. What you feel is normal.

I found a way out of it by finding a hobby I enjoyed. I built model airplanes, cars, Star Wars ships, Star Trek ships, and even a small ufo. If you can find something that you enjoy and feel a want to do more of focus on that. Avoid destructive activities such as drugs and crime and all the stuff your parents warn you about.

And I know you said that you don't feel like you can talk to your parents about stuff, but you should try. My parents got divorced when I was 12 and I lived with my mom. I didn't start to know my dad until I was 16 or 17.

I had regular vistations but I just kind of went over and hung out until one year my dad showed me an advertisement brochure for Cedar Point amusment park touting the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster. We went and between the six hour drive each way and two straight days of riding tons of roller coasters we finally connected. By the time I went to college we could talk about anything and I would visit him just to say hi. That was ten years ago and we still go to Cedar Point every year.

So, I understand how you feel with your parents but try. It took years for me to find a common ground to start from with my dad, but it was there. Unless theer is some unknown issues with your parents I will bet that they want to connect and talk but they haven't found a way yet. No matter how stupid you may think they sound they are really just trying, you are just speaking two different languages. A good way to hint to them that you are interested in something is to tell them you want to go do something related to that and ask if they could come along.

Howveer you deal with these eelings just remember that they aren't permanent and if you are truly feeling bad you need to talk to someone, no matter how uncomfortable.

I hope something I said will help you.

 

[G.T]

Wow, right. I've had my moments. This was mainly because of school and getting bullied as many of you would know about already. I was depressed for a long time, but have mainly recovered now from what had happened. Just being a teenager doesn't help...

The things that help me a lot is doing something that you like. Watching car videos or doing something that interests you can make me feel better. After a good laugh, it can help. Doing exercise helps. It makes a "feel good" chemical called Endorphins. Talking to people about it and any problems you have has REALLY helped me in the past. You just don't realise how much help is out there, especially for teenagers.

Negative thinking is another thing that can eat at you too. I've always been told "think positive!", and it may seem hard too, but eventualy you start to think like that if you put some effort into it and you start to feel happier in yourself. I admit, I still blow things out of proportion when I start to get nervous, but I'm starting to take things as they come and take them in my stride a lot better.

Maybe none of this would help make you feel better, but it has worked for me and hope it will for others. I can't wait for these troublesome teenage years to be done with!

 

[SRV2LOW4ME]

I'm going to say something depression that I learned from personal experience. Depression will come and go throughout anyones life time, personally it strikes me every spring, don't know why, but it does. Keep busy, go out and see people, even if you don't feel like it, it will help keep your mind off everything going on. Work out, excersise (sp?), or even go for a bike ride or something, the energy release will help as well. Self image can subconciously effect your mood as well, and staying energenic will hopefully brighten that outlook.

I went in to the doctors while I was feeling down, told him it just comes every year and I get through it, but he still wrote out a prescription. I took one, and I could instantly tell I was no longer myself. It was like a fake happiness, and even after hearing news that I should have been blown away by, I still felt happy. I stopped taking them after that first pill, and will never take them again. Doctors are throwing anit-depressents out like candy now a days, and its not good. My friend went in with a sore shoulder, and walked out with a prescription for anit-depressents, no lie. The side effects of these pills are worse then pros in my opinion, and I strongly suggest to you to try working it out with the ideas suggested before becoming a mindless happy zombie.

 

[donbenni]

I also get depressed in the winter, and we haven't even had any real snow so far this year in Canada. There is a real disorder that hundreds of thousands of people suffer from, it's called Seasonal Depression Disorder or something (I think the acronym is SADS or SADDS or something). Maybe you could talk to your doctor...

I think it's seasonal affective disorder. Diagnosed myself with that a just after Christmas, i felt really low.

ultrabeat if it's any help to hear i think we all go through periods of feeling down for wahtever reasons. Personally i'm always trying to pigeon-hole my feelings when i'm down and depressed, hence the SAD thing above. I also think i suffer from some variety of irrational dislike for Sundays, they always make me really peed off.

I was much worse when i was your age. I think it's around the time that most of us are working out how we should feel about certain circumstances and the confusion sets in. Personally i couldn't get my head around a lot of the things that were happening such as important decisions (like chosing which uni to go to that has the course i want to do without going too far away from home because my gf wouldn't like that etc. etc.), getting stuck in financial pickles like owing my parents money, and dealing with the pressure of finally having to grow up.

Feeling down is natural. I would say that nothing is actually wrong with you, you are perhaps just suffering from slight shock at the way your life is speeding up and people are expecting more and more from you (?)

 

[daan]

Are you sure you're really down, or are you just doing this for a novel that you're writing?

 

[Jondot]

I feel a bit like this sometimes. I can't really suggest anything, but i can tell you that it will eventually pass, so don't worry Well, does for me anyway. I just go and do something i enjoy, or whatever i feel like doing. If i feel like moaping around all day, i do that. That's generally when i do a lot of thinking about stuff.

EDIT

Try listening to music. Some stuff works better than others. For me it's things that are almost depressing in the beggining, like Coldplay, but i think it varies from person to person.

 

[ceiling_fan]

Yeah, I've had depression since I was about 7 years old. I remember just crying and crying when I was little. It was a miserable experience. When I got into 9th grade I was so depressed that by May (near the end of the school year) I was in a mental hospital to keep me from killing myself. I wound up being in there for a month. I'm not suggesting you should go to a mental hospital but leaving it untreated (as much as you may want to) can lead to suicide. I consider myself lucky for not killing myself then. I am now on 4 meds and as much as I don't like the concept, they really do help. Whether to go on them should be completely your choice, but keep an open mind. I started getting serious about guitar shortly after I got out of there, that can keep my mind off whatever negative thoughts I have running through my head. If you (or anybody) have any questions, PM me.

Are you sure you're really down, or are you just doing this for a novel that you're writing?

 

[DustDriver]

i also have this feeling alot, but i know what's causing it.
I don't have friends, and my main hobby is computer.
Not a very social hobby
I'm just to lazy to find a active hobby.

But playing travian (see a couple of post below) helps, because you're talking and discussing with teammates alot.

 

[Jondot]

i also have this feeling alot, but i know what's causing it.
I don't have friends, and my main hobby is computer.
Not a very social hobby
I'm just to lazy to find a active hobby.

But playing travian (see a couple of post below) helps, because you're talking and discussing with teammates alot.

The problem for me is, i do both. I'm pretty social away from the pc, but i'm also pretty social on here, and i sometimes feel i don't have the time for both. What happens then, is that i end up cutting other things out, which tends to be schoolwork I then start wondering about stuff, and i get depressed because i don't know what to do. I don't want to abandon either, since i have friends on here and friends not on here, but i think i'll have to eventually. I have too much time where i could be doing schoolwork, but i don't do it, and instead choose to sit here wasting time. That's gotta change ...

 

[El Gigante]

Are you sure you're really down, or are you just doing this for a novel that you're writing?

That cheered me up

 

[xXSilencerXx]

Lately I've been feeling depressed.
I've started to rarely feel much emotion to things, and I just feel really empty.

I know that may be difficult to comprehend if you've never felt it.
I feel like there's nothing I have to look forward to.
Change of almost any kind sets off this as well. I thin it's because subconciously I'm convinced that whatever it is, it's gone and will never be back.

I don't really know why I feel like this so often, but I was wondering if anyone's felt like this before, and whether anyone can give me any tips to help me.

Any input is appreciated.

I felt like this for a little bit. It just went away over time but does come back every once in awhile.

 

[keram]

I have felt in much the same way recently but I have had this on and off for years now and the only way I deal with it is just to either forget or to think past it somehow. I'm not that good with talking to people about it so I deal with it on my own it works when it happens but it only happens again later .

If theres something you want but can't have you just have to make yourself not want it i.e. hate it. Whereas if theres nothing you want you just have to find something and LIKE it.

If theres nothing you are looking forward to you just have to something drastic. I'm never happy with material things anymore yeah they are fine for a short while but I just know that I'll be bored with them eventually the only things that can keep you happy forever are people - the most fun I ever have is hanging out with people and doing things together. Find something you enjoy to do during the day start a band whatever and find something at night like go out and get drunk . Well I'm only 16 and thats how I see things I'm sure I'll get bored of that by the time I'm much older somehow :S

Just try something new everyday hope that helps

 

[Max_DC]

Everything has been said, I just want to underline the sports aspect once agaiin. Go running or ride bicycle or whatever. It will help, believe me. Of course it won't solve other private problems, but it should increase your happiness.

EDIT : and you know, one thing is sick. In the very first moment - and only for 1 second - after I read you thread, I didn't believe you. Thanks Blazin_Extreme.....

 

[Poverty]

By any chance have you left school or are you in yr 11?

 

[X5.]

Are you sure you're really down, or are you just doing this for a novel that you're writing?

I felt like this for a little bit. It just went away over time but does come back every once in awhile.

I agree with you here. I have spells of highs and lows. Sometimes i just feel really down and other times i'm extremely happy. I sometimes talk to one of my good mates but i have a sneaky feeling that my downess makes him feel good about himself 👎 - so i have stopped talking to him about deep stuff

You shouldn't worry too much - wonderful community we got here

 

[Jondot]

I agree with you here. I have spells of highs and lows. Sometimes i just feel really down and other times i'm extremely happy. I sometimes talk to one of my good mates but i have a sneaky feeling that my downess makes him feel good about himself 👎 - so i have stopped talking to him about deep stuff

You shouldn't worry too much - wonderful community we got here

That's me all over. I don't really feel comfortable talking to my friends about stuff like that. I find it much easier to talk about it here than anywhere else.

 

[Gabkicks]

i've felt the same way before many times ultrabeat. Only way to get out of it is to be honest with yourself and move on. Ask yourself how can you move forward, what were your dreams before the depression hit. what truely caused it... Focus on small goals and accomplish them 1st then move onto bigger things.
am i projecting my own problems onto u?