Thirteen and Scared

Hello zaylahn,

It is very brave of you to reach out for help and I commend you. Thank you for allowing me to help you. I can imagine how you must be feeling and unable to tell your parents about it. If you and your mother have a good relationship, then by all means speak with her and let her know what you are experiencing and that you feel that you need professional help with your depression. As a mother myself, I would want to know what my child is experiencing and I would do anything it would take to make them feel better, as I feel that your parents want the best for you too. Depression is a serious concern and shouldn't be left untreated. In the meantime, I hope that you will continue to read the articles here on www.choosehelp.com and find out what depression is and the symptoms that accompany depression and ways that you can help yourself. Sometimes our negative self-talk, or distorted thinking can make us feel out of sorts with our-self. When we think of depressing things, either in our own life, or in the lives of others we can become sad and feel hopeless and helpless. When this happens we have to learn how to cope by using self-affirming, or positive thoughts that can counter our depression. Exercise is good too, because it releases the "feel-good" hormones that make us feel better.

Your parents are there to support you and I would imagine that they have noticed some signs of your sadness. Please understand that your parents can't read your mind and that it is up to you to tell them what you are experiencing.

Thank you again zaylahn for the opportunity to be of assistance to you. I hope you sit your parents down and ask them to listen to you as you have something very important to tell them and that you will need their assistance in getting better. There is no shame in asking for help. There is a saying that "We can't fix what we don't acknowledge". This is the perfect time for you to acknowledge that you feel you are having some problems.

Good luck to you and remember, you are worth getting better and deserve to be happy.

Jeannie Cameron, LMHC

Naples, Florida