Although it is hard to believe, many things that seem huge when you are young will seem very minor years later. How many people will remember a problem 10 years later, or even one year later? Bad times always change, and depression will always fade away, with or without treatment.
Depending on our age, we all see things very differently. Middle-aged and older adults do not get so passionate, for better or for worse, because they have learned more things as the years go on. Something that seems world-shattering to a young person or a young adult, will seem much less important after time has passed. When you are young, it seems that certain things will never change, but the reality is that life always changes. If things are good now, you know from time to time they will change; equally, if things are bad now, you must remember that things will change for you also!
Friendships and Relationships:
In your teenage years and early adult years, friendships and relationships are very important. However, good times and bad times happen in all relationships, in all friendships and in all marriages. I suggest that you do not know any relationship which has been good all the time! It is important to keep a perspective on the bad times and the good times. If something bad happens in a relationship, it is not inevitably the end of that relationship, otherwise there would be no friendships or marriages lasting beyond a few weeks. So if you are having a problem in a friendship or in a relationship, please do keep in mind that this is very common and very normal, and if you wait long enough, the situation will change.
No matter what goes wrong in a friendship or a relationship, do keep in mind that your survival is vital. If a friend of yours had a fatal medical illness, they would not want you to die also. If something disastrous happens between you and another person, you know that other person would not want you to die either. If you had a major fallout with a friend or someone with whom you were having a relationship, you would not want the other person to die!
Treat yourself the way you would want the other person to behave, even if there was a sudden problem between you and them.
Depression:
It is now increasingly obvious to doctors that depression happens to more young people and at an earlier stage in life, than was previously understood. Depression can make you think there is nothing in your life, or in your future, except negatives, but this is how depression tries to kill you. It is a filter that sends over your brain, convincing you slowly that everything is negative and always will be negative, and it can be very painful.
If you find that you no longer feel like seeing friends, contacting them by telephone, SMS or email etc., it is very likely that you are developing depression. If you feel more tired than usual, more irritated with people than usual, and especially if you are much more pessimistic and negative than usual, it is very likely that you have depression. The depression will eventually fade away completely, leaving you back to your normal self, but it can do you a lot of damage in the meantime.
Depression often makes people ignore their self-care, take risks they would never otherwise take, and generally see life as not worth living. As it gets worse, people find themselves thinking more about the possibility of being dead. This is a “computer virus” taking over your brain, and it can be eradicated pretty easily, if you see a mental health professional, or your local doctor.
