I'm 12 and I feel depressed. Am I being dramatic?

12 can be a tough time. I think talking to a therapist is a good idea. Is this just part of your beginning to develop your sense of self and figure out how to deal with crappy situations that life throws at us? Maybe. Is this being made worse bc you have a bit of underlying depression? Maybe. But, here's the thing, a totally neutral 3rd party can give you that perspective.

I'm glad that you see that it can be a generally tough time for folks. There are a lot of "1st times" you're going through. And, your brain is figuring out how to manage them. It's a good thing - cool and exciting to be working through things for the 1st time ever and figuring out the best solutions to social/school/home situations, etc, but, it also can cause distress. There is a lot of trial and error, and sometimes, that error sucks. But, right now, you are a scientist, figuring out the best way to manage situations. A lot of science is learning from failures, but those failures can be sucky too. For example, you think you're ugly? For now, you have a limited vision of what "beauty" is (not your fault! You're 12 for Pete's sake!) You need to keep looking around you, and only maturity and experience will make you realize that "ugly" is so subjective and most people REALLY care more about the person than the way that person looks when it comes to making meaningful relationships. You will continue to have experiences and make impressions every day that goes by, and your definition of "ugly" will change over time. (But, remember this time - bc someday, you will tell a young person about your experiences of feeling "ugly" and what experiences led you to realize that you have a place in this world - as a perfectly attractive and useful individual.) As far as being "enough", you are 12. Your job is to pay attention to the world around you, learn from your experiences. Practice ways to be good to the people around you, try to find insight from what may otherwise be mundane. Learn from your mistakes, be humble as a scientist, but proud of what you've accomplished so far. Look for the struggle in other people and be compassionate towards that bc we all struggle (that I absolutely promise you....) You don't have to be "enough". Just doing your 12-year old job is enough. Keep going to school. Soak it in bc it will give you even BETTER perspective about how to view the world. Try to think about math class, for example, as a means of learning a new way to see things with broader perspective.

BUT, SOME of it is learning how to feel sad and move past it, and maybe the rest of it is that you need a bit more prompting. Do you need help or is this normal? A therapist can help. It will not be difficult for a them to identify what things you might want to work on. And, again, a therapist will work like a scientist too - trial and error. Be patient, give them as much information as possible to help you and be observant with how they use data to form a plan for you. Sometimes that plan works, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, what do they do? They adjust it and reproach it maybe from a different direction. This is EXTREMELY common in all of life - and actually exactly what you are doing now. You are going to be ok, but your insight and determination to be proactive about addressing your situation is going to ensure that! :)

/r/depression Thread