Finally signed up!

[Ljr]

Hi everyone.
I have trawled this website for months but never signed up as I haven't wanted to tell my story before.
I probably still don't.
But I finally bit the bullet and registered last night.

I was diagnosed with depression late last year but know deep down I have had it for a long time!
I'm only 21 but have had the life of a middle aged person! Sometimes I take a step back, look at my life and wonder how I'm still here. Most people go through a hard time but my 'hard times' never seem to end.

I have recently suffered a bereavement and have serve financial problems. I feel like I'm having a nervous breakdown but don' want to tell a pprofessional that as they will surely laugh me out their office due to my age.

I just feel like I'm at the end of tether and cannot take anything anymore.

[stewart]

Hi Ljr, welcome to the forume,
bereavement  on top of depression is a very hard road to be on, (there myself).

feeling like your older than you are can also be part of depression, but im sure a professional would not laugh at you (if they were any good)
are you on any meds? you could have a chat with your doc and see if they will give you something to help.

[Ljr]

Hi Stewart.
Thank you for your reply.

Yes. I'm on anti Ds meds. Fluxotine.

Who do you suggest I ask my GP to speak to? The only 'mental hearth professional' I have ever spoken to was my school councilor when I was in school back in 2006/2007.

[stewart]

Hi again Ljr, there are a few organizations around, but the one that seems to be mentioned the most is MIND, they have some very good support workers there

[Ljr]

MIND... Never heard of them before but just Google'd them. My local centre isn't too far away, will email them to get some more info on what support they offer. When I know, I'll post a topic to let others know.

Thanks for the suggestion Stewart.

[stewart]

glad to be of help Ljr, my support worker is great with them.
he will take me to the shop if i need to go, or even do shopping for me if i dont want to go out.

[SteveW]

I wouldn't let your age worry you. If you look at when people become ill first, you will find that there is a peak for depression, bipolar, and schizophrenia at a few years either side of 21. You are not unusual you are spot on for a new diagnosis.

MIND do a very good job but they a charity not a service provided by law. I lived in Lincolnshire and MIND simply didn't exist. The core service these days is
the Community Mental Health Team. Coverage of the country should be complete. MIND have been known to charge for their services especially counselling. The CMHT should be completely free. There are services that you might not get from MIND. I have never yet run across a MIND branch that employed a psychiatrist, though maybe I haven't been around enough. CMHT's employ their own.

It might be worth having a word with your GP about the relative merits of MIND and CMHT's

[Liv]

Hi Ljr, I'm 23 and first went to the doctor's to speak to them about treatment for depression when I was 17. I have seen quite a few therapists/counsellors over the years and generally age hasn't been much of an issue so don't let that be something to hold you back from seeking help. Depression can hit anyone and it's a typical thing for us to think 'I shouldn't be depressed anyway, I'm just being stupid/pathetic/lazy' or whatever. If you feel terrible, you deserve help and no one should make you bad for trying to find it.

[Pip]

 

Depression affects all sorts of people in different ways, all ages and so on.  I've suffered with depression since my early teens which became severe when I was 19 yet I didn't officially get diagnosed for many years.  I had it drummed into me that I was moody, needed to pull myself together and so on so wouldn't see a doctor for fear of them telling me the same.  When I did it was as if a great weight had been taken off my shoulders.  Unfortunately there is still a stigma to depression.  You've already been given good advice so just wanted to say hi as well.

[craig84]

mine started at 7 when my parents separated but I didn't get help until after I was hospitalised when I was 24... that's when the diagnosis came in for depression after a suicide attempt... never thought id ever be in that situation...

hope your still showing up in the forums anyway ljr :)