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Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Goldfish asks

Q: I'm 19 and I think I am depressed.

I am 19 and I don’t really know whether I have depression, PMDD, or if I am just a really negative person, but there are days when I don't think I can handle another moment. I can be happy one minute but the slightest thing can just as easily ruin that and I fall right back into depression. I am supposed to be taking Sarafem 14 days out of the month, yet I don’t want to have to be on medication in order to be happy. Can therapy by its self help me? My doctor never really told me what she thought I had, other than it is all probably related to my cycle. My boyfriend is also always telling me that I am too emotional and sensitive, which I can see. Is it because I am depressed? I don’t really feel like I can talk to him about my problems because he feels like I am just melodramatic. Do you have any advice for any of this?

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Answers (1)
10/22/08 4:11pm

Hey there

 

I am emotional and ultra sensitive too.  Smile  I think some of us are just wired up that way and hormones don't help.  Whether or not this is true clinical depression only a therapist can tell you that.  But my rule of thumb is...are your moods interfering with your day to day functioning?  Are you having difficulties with work, with school, with relationships with others?  Are you having sleeping difficulties?  Have your eating habits changed drastically?  Do you find enjoyment from life? 

 

It is sometimes hard for others to understand our moods if they are not experiencing them too.  It does not help when others dismiss our feelings and moods as just melodrama.  What response would you most like from your boyfriend?  If it is for him just to listen...maybe preface what you have to say with, "Hey you don't need to do anything or solve my problems...I just want to talk and I would like for you to listen."  Guys quite often feel helpless because their thing is to solve problems and when they can't do that, then they get frustrated. 

 

If you are truly concerned that this is a clinical depression, keep being persistent with your doctor in asking for a diagnosis or some help to treat your symptoms.  You don't have to suffer needlessly. 

 

I hope you come back to let us know how things are going for you.  And thank you for your question.

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