Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Am I Suicidal?
Dear Guidance Guy,
I believe I may be suffering from depression. I have a few stories to back up my assumption. Recently, I have been wearing a lot of dark colours and I have been writing poetry. Not nice summery poetry. I mean death and saddness. I've gone through phases before but it usually lasted about 4 days or something. I've gone through this for about half the month.
Last night, I was sitting in my room and all of a sudden I started crying for no reason. I kept asking myself what was wrong with me and why; if I could have been anywhere, why was I put here? I went on and on about how my life is worthless and I wanted to go back in time to an accident I was in so I could have died. I do wonder what happens after you pass on, but I would never commit suicide to find out, would I?
Depressed and Scared
*****
Dear Depressed and Scared,
You could be suffereing from depression. I don't know if the depression part is true in the medical sense, but the suffering part certainly seems to be there.
It's perfectly normal for teenagers to go through dark periods in their lives. You're growing and changing, and with that comes a lot of uncertainty about life. Why am I here and what if I wasn't here type of questions are typcial. And it's not just teens who go through this. Adults often question things about life. In fact, it's part of the human condition.
The difference between normal stages like this and real depression is when it remains over long periods of time, or when it becomes so intense that you aren't able to think about anything else. Half a month is a bit long to be that unhappy.
Would you commit suicide to find out? I certainly hope not! My guess is that you won't, only because of the way you wrote. It seems like most of you understands that isn't the answer. There's no coming back from suicide, and thinking about how it will affect your family and friends may be enough to move away from the thought.
Have you thought about how you would do it, or considered when and where? If so, you are at a higher risk for a suicide attemtpt. If not, the risk is lower. Either way, if you're that unhappy I would encourage you to talk with your parents or a counselor or another adult you trust. This looks like the right time to get some help in dealing with these feelings. There's nothing weak about asking for help. In fact, it makes you stronger to admit when there's something you can't handle by yourself.
I promise you...at the end of all the difficulty you're going through now, there's a big, great wonderful world waiting for you! Find a way to get through this rough period and you'll see what I mean.
All The Best,
The Guidance Guy
I believe I may be suffering from depression. I have a few stories to back up my assumption. Recently, I have been wearing a lot of dark colours and I have been writing poetry. Not nice summery poetry. I mean death and saddness. I've gone through phases before but it usually lasted about 4 days or something. I've gone through this for about half the month.
Last night, I was sitting in my room and all of a sudden I started crying for no reason. I kept asking myself what was wrong with me and why; if I could have been anywhere, why was I put here? I went on and on about how my life is worthless and I wanted to go back in time to an accident I was in so I could have died. I do wonder what happens after you pass on, but I would never commit suicide to find out, would I?
Depressed and Scared
*****
Dear Depressed and Scared,
You could be suffereing from depression. I don't know if the depression part is true in the medical sense, but the suffering part certainly seems to be there.
It's perfectly normal for teenagers to go through dark periods in their lives. You're growing and changing, and with that comes a lot of uncertainty about life. Why am I here and what if I wasn't here type of questions are typcial. And it's not just teens who go through this. Adults often question things about life. In fact, it's part of the human condition.
The difference between normal stages like this and real depression is when it remains over long periods of time, or when it becomes so intense that you aren't able to think about anything else. Half a month is a bit long to be that unhappy.
Would you commit suicide to find out? I certainly hope not! My guess is that you won't, only because of the way you wrote. It seems like most of you understands that isn't the answer. There's no coming back from suicide, and thinking about how it will affect your family and friends may be enough to move away from the thought.
Have you thought about how you would do it, or considered when and where? If so, you are at a higher risk for a suicide attemtpt. If not, the risk is lower. Either way, if you're that unhappy I would encourage you to talk with your parents or a counselor or another adult you trust. This looks like the right time to get some help in dealing with these feelings. There's nothing weak about asking for help. In fact, it makes you stronger to admit when there's something you can't handle by yourself.
I promise you...at the end of all the difficulty you're going through now, there's a big, great wonderful world waiting for you! Find a way to get through this rough period and you'll see what I mean.
All The Best,
The Guidance Guy
