I don't understand

[Tvjunky3]

I'm new to this community. I don't understand why I have anxiety/depression. I have everything in my life. I have family that loves me unconditionally and my friends love me for me. I got into college, no one thought I would. I am now a sophomore. I have a learning disability, but I don't let it get the best of me. So I don't understand, why always feel this way. I have been anxious and depressed for many years, so I don't know any feeling in life. Can someone help me, i'm so confused.

[Mark]

Tvjunky3,

Depression and anxiety just happen sometimes; they aren't always caused by anything in particular. Some people are born more vulnerable to becoming depressed and anxious than others. And at other times, people can underestimate the amount of stress that they are under.

At any rate, it is maybe less important why you are feeling this way, and more important what you do about it so as to feel better. Can I ask what you have tried by way of treatment so as to help yourself feel better? Even stuff like exercise which you might not think can have a positive effect on your mood can help.

Mark

[Proverbs31:28]

I wanted to offer you some empathy, which is the best I've got at the moment. I, too, have suffered for years from depression and anxiety. I don't know where it came from or why it progressed as it has. In therapy, I am learning a lot about the unrecognized sources that have been buried in my past. Things I thought I had "gotten over" and left in the past long ago. I once had a family who loved me, friends who loved me even more than my family, a good career and a future. My family has abandoned me, I have pushed most of my friends away with my apathy and isolation, I have lost my career and see no future ahead of me.

I guess my first thought would be to suggest you get into therapy with someone who understands your issues. He/she can help you unravel the confusion and perhaps identify some sources of your anxiety or depression. Having said that, there is the chemical/hardwiring component of depression and anxiety that does not necessarily have a source. Just like other illnesses, there may be no cause or it may be hereditary or whatever. So, don't get too upset over not identifying sources. Instead, make your focus one of identifying coping skills and treatment options. I do not saying that as someone who has mastered this stage, I say it as one who is in the midst of this very process. If medication is a needed component of your treatment, a therapist or your family doctor can refer you to a psychiatrist who can prescribe you the right meds.

I am sorry to hear of your situation. You will recognize here that you are not alone. Support and encourgament can go a long way and you will find plenty of it here.

[Tvjunky3]

I understand what you are all saying. I have done therpay many times. I think since i was a freshman in high school. I have taken Prozac medication, but I was having suicidal side effects, so my mom took me off. In therapy, we would talk about my issues, and as I got a lot better I stopped going. Then after a while the issues come back. I think part of the reason I have these feelings is because I was born with a learning disability. These disability affects me in school and in life. It sucks because my little brother is really smart, and my sister was born a child prodigy (a genuis). I always felt sorry for myself when I wouldn't understand what's going on in school while my siblings did. I go to the counselor at school, I realize maybe I need more than that.