Is it normal to feel depressed this way

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I wish I knew what to say. I respect a nihilistic worldview. So then, just suffer through it but don't think it matters I guess. Or you could find your family a new place to stay and maybe then you will feel more centered and focused.

It is not really clear on reasons why you are depressed except that your aunt and 2 year old cousin are staying with you, and well if that's it then I hate to say you need a reality check, because other people have it much more difficult than that.

I suggest you make the best of what you have and what the world has to offer you, and you should try joining a gym to lose weight (not that I am saying your fat or anything) and possibly see a dietician to figure out a better eating plan, and why you may possibly be gaining weight. I don't suggest getting on pills for depression. You just need to figure out what can change in your life to make it better and if you can't change it right away then make a plan on how to change it in the future, and find out what can motivate you again.

I am quite in check with reality thank you. It's not so much them staying here - it's my cousin crying at night keeping me up. Lack of sleep is a proven cause of these feelings.

Sarcasm aside, thank you for your help. I've decided to cut out soda's as they are terrible for you.

when i've gone through depressive stages in my life, and some of them quite serious, i found that if I can concentrate on exercise and good living habits, it helps alot.

Im talking about depression NOT caused by loss of loved one, catastrophe, etc., but triggered by just an unpleasant thing (like your cousin coming to live with you or whatever).


if you can manage to focus on exercise for even just a short time, like say a week straight of just 20 mins a day, meaning run/jog 1/2 mile to 1 mile, do 30 push ups 30 situps 50 jumping jacks, you will immediately increase the serotonin levels in your brain, which is basically what prozac and all those other type drugs do.

change the chemicals in your body and the depression will ease off.

Didn't the fiasco of being diagnosed with the make-believe illness of ADHD teach you that medicine has no answer for your moodiness.

Of course you're depressed! All you seem to be thinking about is yourself and how unhappy you are and your lousy grades and your expanding wasteline.

Sell the TV. Stop buying fast food. Go volunteer at a hospital, veterinarian or soup kitchen. Make it your mission to do one nice thing for a perfect stranger every day. Plan ahead. No excuses.

Maybe your fate doesn't have to be ending up as a fat loser.

Jim, you are being VERY simplistic.

ADHD does, in fact, exist. It is HUGELY over diagnosed, but it does happen.

As to the depression, what has happened here is you have accumulated many points on what is known as the change of life index. The addition of the aunt and cousin to your life is probably inducing a feeling of being trapped. Feeling trapped is one of the most powerful contributors to depression.

Exercise is good advice, but what is being missed here is the fact that you, because of the depression, are DEMOTIVATED! It is rather silly to suggest that merely getting up and doing a bunch of jumping jacks is going to be curative.

there are a couple of things you need to do. First is behavioral; change your routine and get out more. This will get you away from the elements in your life that are causing the emotions and put you in a place where you can look at your depression more objectively. Second is cognitive; you have not quite nailed down what you are depressed. To do so, remove yourself from your normal circumstances (even if it is just by going to a coffee shop) and think about where this is coming from.

The best trick I can give you for this is comes from cognitive therapy. What you do is recognize the emotion when it comes and analyze what thought or ocurance triggered it. From there you do what we call "changing your B". If A is the trigger and C is your emotional response, then B is what you THOUGHT about that trigger that caused the emotion you experienced. There is ALWAYS a B.

For example, if you lose your job, there are many ways you can feel about that. Losing your job is A. Many people would feel depressed. Many other people would feel angry. SOME people would feel elated. The difference between them is B, their thought process about A, the trigger. If you feel depressed, you may be thinking that the fact that you lost your job means that you are a failure; if you feel angry, you may be thinking that you have been victimized by your employer. However, you could feel elated by thinking that, because they fired you, you will likely collect unemployment, get a severance check, and be able to move on to something better. Your response TOTALLY DEPENDS upon which B you choose.

Therefore, the next time you feel a wave of depression hit, figure out what A, the trigger was; recognize your C, the emotion it caused; and go back and determine what exactly it was about A that caused you to respond with C, then change it.

This can be quite difficult to do, especially if you are trying to change from a very negative emotion into a positive one. As a first step, I would recommend that, when you recognize the stimulus that made you depressed, you take an intermediate step and think "what would I have to say to myself to, instead of becoming depressed, become angry?" Doing so will demonstrate that you CAN change your attitude about whatever the stimulus was, and do so rather easily. From there, simply ask yourself what you would have to think to make it so you feel, if not happy, at least understanding.

If you then can tack on some sort of exercise, you will find that you will begin to return to normal due to the fact that the stress hormone cortisol that builds up when we are anxious and depressed, becomes depleted when we exercise. You will lose weight, not feel as hungry, and generally feel better about yourself and your situation.

Just remember that the fact that you are depressed says nothing about you as a person. It does not imply that you are weak, it does not imply that you are broken, it just means that you hit something in your life that you were not quite prepared for. It happens to everyone.

Good luck!

I know where your coming from. My personal advice is looking for that one activity that brings you joy. Don't let hope fade, you have to pursue life to feel like you belong in it. Taking a step back from a seemingly hopeless situation to clear your head and breath is one of the most helpfull things to do. Do something to get you away from your own thoughts, even if it only is for a small amount of time. When you step back into normal routine you will have a clean slate to begin again with. As humans we tend to get trapped within our own ideas and mindset which cause a lack of energy and drive. Leave room for new experiances and change. I know that the idea of change is daunting, but sometimes it can be healing.

im the same i couldnt give two fucks about anything to be honest when i work like at college i either half arse it or dont do it atall but like you i had ADHD and i have had recent events in my life that were extrememly traumatic

That doesn't really sound like depression, so I'll have to say no.