So a friend of mine (He shall be known as "Shrigis"), just told me today that another friend of ours (For anonymous purposes, he shall be known as Beemo), has severe depression T-T. I asked Shrigis for all of the speculations on the matter, (He also told me that Beemo would be in the hospital for a few weeks) and his answers made me so unpleasantly sad that I just had to call Beemo. I called his residence, to find out that he had gone over to yet another friends house and would be back later this night.

If you don't know what depression is, I'll be explaining what it is. There's Adult depression, and then there's Teenage depression. Being that Beemo has Teenage depression, and is a teenager, I'll talk about Teenage depression.

Teenage depression is an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. These chemical imbalances, cause you to feel sadness, affect how you think, and how you act. Teenage depression is a very serious medical problem. As for what you can do to help someone that has Teenage depression, you can reach out to them, tell them that you care. You can get them help, be persistent with them and have them go to a doctor, and you can tell someone else that they have Teenage depression.

For example, Shrigis told me about Beemo's depression, and told Beemo to see a psychiatrist. (I'm very glad that Beemo's going to get help)

After two weeks of depression, there is clinical depression. Clinical depression is profoundly the most severe form of depression, and that's what Beemo has, he's had it for roughly six months T-T.

The longer you have depression, the longer it takes to get out of it, and the more likely you'll get depression again. They may need antidepressants for years to come, or even the rest of there life. So if you know someone that's constantly been showing multiple signs of depression for a while, confront them, show you're concerned.

If this thread is in the wrong place, let me know. If you have any questions, you can ask me. If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. It makes all the difference, and tomorrow morning I'm going to call Beemo again. (^w^) 

I've had clinical depression for something like seven years straight and it sucks real bad. I've gotten help and everything and it hasn't helped yet. It seems like most people are able to get out of it somewhat with counseling and/or medication though, so hopefully your friend does too.

Also, I'd never heard of Teenage depression and Adult depression, but I guess it's a distinction that's made. Explaining depression is annoyingly complicated because of how "depressed" can just mean "sad" in English and because of how many different ways people can experience clinical depression. Like... a lot of people have situational reasons to be depressed or things that triggered it. Or sometimes it just happens for no reason except for brain chemistry going out of whack.

Anyway, I'm rambling, hope your friend gets better.

Linkums :  When I firs saw this thread, I thought the same thing about 'teenage' and 'adult' depression, but I figured there must be something I don't know... and I thus opted out of posting an opinion.

thecrzyguy..... did someone tell you there's a difference between the two?

I don't know if I have clinical depression, but I know I've been off and on severely depressed for years (seven, at least).  I once took about ten Excedrin, but I don't think I was honestly considering suicide so much as testing myself.   Thus,  I wouldn't say I've come close to killing myself... but that doesn't mean it's not hard to go through.

Unlike Linkums, I've never sought help.  I have a feeling it would not get me out of my ruts, and because of that opinion, I bet it would be even less effective.

Instead, I battle it with my mind and determination, which isn't easy and often not successful.  I think the key to understanding it though, is to understand yourself.  I think a lot of my depression has to do with stuff around me, for example... but I think my bodily chemicals are every bit as guilty for my roller coaster emotions.  (I have a disorder that screws with my hormones and chemicals).

The important bit, I think, is not to use depression as an EXCUSE.  And that is the nearly impossible part.

I'm glad your friend is getting help and I hope it works for him.  As someone said in a similar thread.. the best thing you can do is show patience and to be there for him. Show him that you are his friend, that you care about his emotions, and best of all, just -listen-.  He might communicate things through body language, texts, or verbal discussions, but no matter which path he chooses... -listen-.

Linkums : Thank you.

Singelli : My health teacher mentioned that there's a subtle difference between 'teenage' and 'adult' depression. As for what the difference is, she only covered 'teenage' depression. Thank you, to!

I've had a severe depression too... for over two years. I think (hope) I'm out of it, but I still take my anti-depressant... I'm not proud of it, and I certainly don't want to take that for the rest of my life, but as long as I'm still studying, I don't dare to stop with it. It's only one pill per day. It's not like I ever take more than that. I even forget taking it sometimes.

It's a good thing that your friend is getting the help he needs. That's the first step, and the most important step in my opinion, because it's not always easy to have to admit to yourself and to the ones you care about that you need help.  I'm not going deeper into the causes of my own depression. Let's just say I have horrible parents that don't care and a dad that kicked me out of the house for no reason other than that my step mother hated me, and leave it at that. For two years, I felt like I was worth nothing. I was failing at anything I tried to do, always felt miserable, alone. I made that even worse by shutting me off from everything and everyone. I lived on my own ever since I was 18 out of necessity. I hated it, I still don't always like it, but it's gotten a lot better.

There was this project for school (I was studying to become a teacher back then) where we had to go to another country in group. I went with three best friends. I pretended I was okay, but I wasn't. I really wasn't. They confronted me about it, and I got really defensive, which is strange for me, because I'm a really timid and submissive person. But having them say to me that I had a problem, that I needed help, just made something snap inside me. And I ran away. They explained afterwards that they only wanted the best for me and that they were trying to help, and then I just started crying and it took a really long time to stop. I admitted to them that every time I went to sleep, I would wish that I'd never wake up again, that everything would be better if I was gone. Because if your own parents don't even love you, then what kind of person are you? That's what I thought at the time. I thought it was all my fault, that I was abnormal, that I didn't deserve to live.

After that trip, I got help. It was really hard, having to accept that I had a depression and that I needed help. That I couldn't fix things on my own. But... once I accepted it and looked for that help, Allowed others to help me, it only got better : ) So, I hope that your friend can now get the help he needs and get back on track. It isn't easy, but there's always light at the end of the tunnel.

Like others have said; be there for him, let him know that he can count on you, that he's loved. I don't know where I would have been now if it weren't for my grandmother, aunt, uncle and friends. And to a lesser extend my brothers (they were too young to really understand what was going on) They all helped pull me through. It's true that the depressed person has to want it, and make an effort to get better. But that road is a whole lot more bearable with the help and motivation of your loved ones ^^

thecrzyguy : at one point I also had depression it happened back in 2009 I had to move away from where i grew up. I had to leave my friends and everyone I knew and it sent me into a severe depression. I remained that way until the next year I got help and since then my life's been great I hope that your friend can recover as well as I did.