What is depression and how do I know if I have it?
I am really, really tired these days. I find myself not doing my assessments, handing them in very late (like the two that I am supposed to be doing now). I don't know if it's me just being lazy or procrastinating, but I just can't find the motivation to do anything right now. This also happened around the same time last two years. I mean I've been fine at the beginning of this year even though we had to go to online classes, I was even keeping up to date with all my lectures and readings and even with the assessments. But just this latter half of the year is bringing me down. I don't know if it's essentially depression that I have as I haven't been to any sort of services that may give me answers (I don't know if it is due to me not knowing how to find these services or if it is because of how my parents may react and stuff).
I only have about 2 weeks left before I finish this semester and I don't want to place push myself back again by failing 2 of my classes. I just want to get things done and over with. I usually would message the lecturer about my problems of doing some assessments and apologizing for handing them in late, but right now, it is so late that I don't know if an email is even worth sending in. As I said before, I haven't been to any services, so when my lecturers ask for some sort of medical cert as evidence I don't have anything to provide because it's just my words. Some understand my struggle and give me extensions, but yeah. How do get myself diagnosed or get checked if I'm depressed or something? And right now I'm just so sad, because I want to do well and just pass this semester and be done and over with it, but whatever this thing that's holding me back isn't helping at all. I find myself unable to do anything but stay in bed and scroll through my phone, or sometimes I just lay there doing nothing.
I'm just so tired that I don't know what to do anymore. And because I'm like going to be the first to graduate university in my family, the pressure to finish is very high since they all know that my last year is next year. I have friends I can talk to, but I feel like a broken record player always telling them about the same problems that I'm facing. I don't want to burden anyone since I know they have their own problems that they're also facing. I sometimes play things off as a joke, but I think I'm really close to burning out. Sometimes I just want to sleep and then fade away from existence. I know that sounds negative and stuff, but I'm safe.
@hopefulrabbit33 Depression is a medical term, and you can find out what it is by searching the Internet. For example, here's one detailed answer: Depression Definition and DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria
Depression is also a non-medical term that just means you're feeling down in some way.
To get a medical diagnosis you could go to your usual doctor or search your university website for medical or mental health services you could contact. There are some other medical conditions that feel like depression but are really something else, so a doctor will normally do a range of tests to work out what's going on. In some cases medical treatment works almost instantly, but of course it depends on the cause.
If your parents' reaction is likely to be a problem, then it would be important to make that clear right at the start to any professional you contact, so you can be clear about your right to confidentiality and so forth.
If you'd ever like to discuss all this in more detail, feel free to click on my profile picture and message me.
Charlie
Who said to you that depression is a non-medical term? It's pretty much a medical term. And it doesn't mean that you feeling down, it's a serious illness that has certain clinical manifestations. The main cause of depression is grief and mental loss. A lot of people cant get mental health after bereavement into a healthy state for a few years.
@GooseWashingtons In psychiatric medicine, clinical depression or major depressive disorder can only be diagnosed when certain criteria are met. The link I provided above explains what the criteria are.
A feeling like depression that fails to meet those criteria is not a psychiatric disorder. People often call that kind of feeling depression, but it's not clinical depression because it fails to meet the criteria.
Depression after bereavement is very a controversial topic among mental health professionals. You can read more about the controversy here, for example: Medicalization of Grief
In this discussion thread, however, there is no suggestion that @hopefulrabbit33 was recently bereaved. Here at 7 Cups we have a Grief & Loss Community where bereavement can be discussed.
Charlie