I don't know if i am depressed at 17 ..

Hi,

I posted something like this similar to this a few days ago. When I was around 14, my brothers were annoying me, you know the usual kind of thing. Back then I didn't have a phone so i text my mum through my phone saying, 'oh god, they're driving me crazy - i want to kill myself' - I was young, so evidently i was joking. My mum showed my step-dad for some reason, he gave me a knife and said "Go on kill yourself."

I'm not sure if that's when everything spiralled but I was considerably fine after that. Then came year 9 where my parents decided to move abroad - I hated it. I was 'home schooled' although it was merely me teaching myself. Then we came back to the UK during the summer and I had to somehow study all of my GCSE's (three years worth) in a matter of months which was very stressful.

Then, I somehow got into college. My parents let me do six-form in the UK whilst they went abroad. For months, especially when i was abroad, I felt so sad and miserable, I just assumed everything would get better when I was in the UK again.

It didn't.

I'm not a very emotional person, if people cry; you won't see me bawling my eyes out. However, my mum arranged to take me to the doctor's during the holidays because of my irreguar periods. Then i found out i had polycystic ovaries. I was quite upset about the possiblity of not having children but i wasn't that distraught.

Over the first few months of college everything was somewhat okay. Except i always felt this numbness settle around me - at times, I'd feel so upset that I just felt numb. I'd stare at my computer screen and just do .. nothing.

The next few months grew worse, I would miss college because I lacked the motivation to face anybody. I then searched up how i was feeling and found a bunch of depression tests. I didn't suspect i had it, despite getting very high 'marks' in the online tests.

I wouldn't say anything above really contributes to how i've been feeling. At times, I'll be at home and I'll just burst out crying despite not knowing WHY i'm crying.

I loathe nights because I can't sleep at all - sometimes, it'll tak me 3 hours to fall asleep and even then, I'll only sleep for a few headaches whilst recently getting a lot of headaches.

I tried telling my mum about how i'm feeling, she's still abroad and she just brushes off. I know that depression is genetic, which makes me wonder if i have a higher risk of getting it because my mum had it at this age.

Do I have depression?

I've looked at all of the symptoms and I have 98% of them but I'm also not sad ALL of the time.

Please go and see your doctor soon as possible if you've done on line tests and get such a high score then it may be depression but only your doctor can really diagnose it and advise on what treatment is best for you. Tell your GP exactly what you've written here, you sound like you have several issues that you need to discuss with someone who can help you, and your GP can point you in the right direction.

It sounds like you have been through a lot. And it also sounds like your parents havent always made the best choices. The gesture of your dad with the knife is something that can stick with us forever and grow inside into something really nasty. 

It happened to me. And many others. Our experiences in childhood and teens are so extremely important for our adult life. My mom had depression as well and it affected me just by her not being around much. I was very independant. Which I thought was good back then. Now I see that I just didnt have a parent to go to. To lean on. To trust.

You sound like a very strong person, but also really hurt and lost and the issues with sleeping, mood and headaches can be the first signs of depression. 

I highly recommend that you see your GP. Your family doesnt have to know what you are going there for. Tell your GP right out what your symptoms are and you think you may be having a depressive episode. He/She will be very kind and help you figure out what is best for you. Perhaps an antidepressant on a low dose for a few months until you feel better or a combination of that with therapy. 

I do the latter and it helps me tremendously to have someone once a week to vent to, but also get an opinion that may be less subjective. 

Go ahead - see your doctor and your life will turn around for the better! Promise!

Thank you very much, I really appreciate it. I suppose i'm absolutely terrified of admitting out loud how i'm feeling - especially to my parents. I'm not even sure HOW to explain how i'm feeling to the GP.

Do antidepressants really help?