How To Get Help For Depression Without Telling Parents
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If you have been struggling with mental health problems like depression, here are some things you can do to get help without involving your parents:
- Establish an alternative emergency contact
- Choose self care
Dealing with mental health problems can be a major challenge in itself. Having to deal with it alone is another issue, especially if you are a minor or dependent on someone else.
Seeking professional help is a major part of ones road to healing and recovery from mental health disorders and most of these services are required to keep things confidential.
However if you are under the age of 18 and part of an environment that does not support mental health care, getting help for depression or any other mental illness can be extremely challenging.
There may be many reasons as to why you would want to seek help without letting your parents or guardians know. It is common for adolescents to want to keep things private especially when there is stigma surrounding mental health.
You might be afraid that your parents might not support you or you might be ashamed of the fact that you need help. Another reason why you wouldnt want to tell your parents could be that the problem is the family itself.
An abusive environment or a dysfunctional family pattern may be part of the reason why you are struggling in the first place.
Whatever your reasons may be, let us start by first acknowledging that you are not alone in your struggle.
How Can I Support My Mental Health
Having depression or anxiety isnt a sign of weakness and theres no need to feel embarrassed. Keep active in your community, consider joining a support group and do things that boost your mental wellbeing.
Self-help groups
Meeting other people who understand what youre going through can be helpful, especially if youre feeling isolated or lonely. You can find a local support group by asking your GP, or by contacting Mind, Anxiety UK, SANE or Rethink Mental Illness.
Keep a regular social routine
There are a range of services in the local community where you can meet new people and learn new skills. This will give you something to look forward to, and prevent you feeling isolated or alone. Your local Age UK can help you find an activity or group that will suit your interests.
Seeing A Doctor About Depression
Big changes in your life, like bereavement, losing a job, or even having a baby, can cause symptoms of depression. You’re also more likely to experience depression if you have a family history of depression. However, it’s also possible to become depressed without there being an obvious reason.
You can learn more about depression causes here.
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What Is The #1 Cause Of Depression
The number one cause of depression is the tough stuff, the major life events that go wrong, says Steven Hollon, PhD, of Brentwood, Tennessee, a professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University. Depression can occur when people experience adverse life events such as the death of someone close, the loss of a job, or some type of psychological trauma. Depression can lead to more stress and dysfunction, which can worsen the depression itself.
There also is a connection between depression and physical health. For instance, cardiovascular disease can lead to depression .4,5
Thankfully, there are effective treatments for depression. We know that depression is a very treatable condition and that over 80 percent of people who receive appropriate treatment for their depression will improve significantly, says Rudy Nydegger, PhD, Professor Emeritus of psychology and management at Union College and chief in the Division of Psychology at Ellis Hospital, both in Schenectady, New York. Unfortunately, the large majority of people with depression never get appropriate treatment.
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Psychological Depression Symptoms Include:
- doing poorly at work
- difficulties with your family or home life
It’s not always possible to tell that you’re having symptoms of depression right away it can start and progress gradually. A lot of people don’t realise they’re ill and try to carry on and cope with their symptoms. Sometimes it takes a friend or family member to notice that there’s a problem.
What To Do If You Get Diagnosed With Depression
If youre diagnosed with any type of depression, know that you are not alone. Help and effective treatment is available, and there are simple, effective lifestyle changes you can make to begin feeling better, often right away. Lets look at some self-care and other techniques that can help keep you grounded and more positive in your daily life if you have depression diagnosed.
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Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder is a condition that occurs in children and youth ages 6 to 18. It involves a chronic and severe irritability resulting in severe and frequent temper outbursts. The temper outbursts can be verbal or can involve behavior such as physical aggression toward people or property. These outbursts are significantly out of proportion to the situation and are not consistent with the childs developmental age. They must occur frequently and typically in response to frustration. In between the outbursts, the childs mood is persistently irritable or angry most of the day, nearly every day. This mood is noticeable by others, such as parents, teachers, and peers.
In order for a diagnosis of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder to be made, symptoms must be present for at least one year in at least two settings and the condition must begin before age 10. Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder is much more common in males than females. It may occur along with other disorders, including major depressive, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, anxiety, and conduct disorders.
Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder can have a significant impact on the childs ability to function and a significant impact on the family. Chronic, severe irritability and temper outbursts can disrupt family life, make it difficult for the child/youth to make or keep friendships, and cause difficulties at school.
Treatment typically involves and/or medications.
Symptoms Of Bipolar Type 2 Disorder
Because bipolar disorder can look like other mental health disorders, it is often misdiagnosed. Symptoms of bipolar disorder can appear as depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, personality disorders, and even schizophrenia. Understanding the symptoms of bipolar disorder, and specifically bipolar type 2 disorder, is an important way to ensure an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
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Youre Preoccupied With Thoughts Of Death
Persistent thoughts about ending your life, wondering how friends and family would feel if you went and did it, pondering different ways to carry out the act, and even general thoughts about death are all strong indicators that its time to reach out for professional help, says Wolkin. Because these thoughts pose such a direct threat to your life, its important to seek help if you experience them daily or almost every day for two weeks, even if you dont recognize any other symptoms of depression in yourself, she says.
Evidence Of Core Symptoms From Rating Scales
It is common to evaluate the severity of a depressive episode using classic rating scales, particularly the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression 11 or the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale .12 Differences in medication type and in the symptom profiles of the population being evaluated may influence outcomes on a rating scale. Among individual items, the core depressed mood item on either the HAMD-17 or the MADRS was more sensitive to drug-placebo separation and to establishing optimal dosing, compared with the full scales in several controlled trials.13,14
The sensitivity of some items to differentiate between active drug and placebo can be compromised when a drug has an unfavorable effect on certain items. For example, increased anxiety may occur during the early weeks of SSRI therapy, and activating antidepressants may disrupt some aspects of sleep.15 The net result is that, prevalent items may not. emerge on rating scales that are designed to detect improvements during antidepressant, therapy. When symptom prevalence and sensitivity to change have been evaluated in large data sets using item analysis or factor analysis, several core symptoms emerge with greater sensitivity to change and less distortion by treatment emergent side effects than with the full versions of the scale.
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Alcohol Tobacco And Other Drugs
The misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, and prescription medications affect the health and well-being of millions of Americans. SAMHSAs 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports that approximately 19.3 million people aged 18 or older had a substance use disorder in the past year.
Where Can I Find Clinical Trials For Depression
Clinical trials are research studies that look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat diseases and conditions. Although individuals may benefit from being part of a clinical trial, participants should be aware that the primary purpose of a clinical trial is to gain new scientific knowledge so others may receive better help in the future.
Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health and around the country conduct many studies with patients and healthy volunteers. Talk to your health care provider about clinical trials, their benefits and risks, and whether one is right for you. For more information, visit NIMH’s clinical trials information.
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Activity: Working Through Itthinking About Your Diagnosis
Writing your thoughts, concerns, questions and goals down can be a very helpful tool to help you make sense of your diagnosis and next steps. Working it out by writing can also help you describe what you’re going through to loved ones or health professionals. Also, if you need to access different services and supports, various professionals may start to ask you about your diagnosis including who provided the diagnosis and when it happened. Writing things down can help you remember what youve been told. If you add your thoughts and concerns too, writing can help you see your own progress over time in your recovery journey.
Step 1
Before you can be expected to deal with your diagnosis, you need to be able to put your diagnosis into words. Answer the following questions in your journal:
What diagnosis were you given?
Who provided you with the diagnosis?
When was it given to you ?
Did anyone else confirm this diagnosis? When?
What investigations were done to arrive at the diagnosis?
In lay words, what does this diagnosis mean? What does it involve?
What questions did you ask after you were given the confirmed diagnosis? If you can remember, what answers were you given for your questions?
How much did you already know about depression? Little? Some? A lot?
What attitudes and assumptions did you have about people with depression before this?
How much do you accept this diagnosis? Fully, Unsure, Dont accept it?
How much does it make sense with what you were experiencing?
Step 2
Mental Health Conditions: Depression And Anxiety
Depression is more than just feeling down or having a bad day. When a sad mood lasts for a long time and interferes with normal, everyday functioning, you may be depressed. Symptoms of depression include:1
- Feeling sad or anxious often or all the time
- Not wanting to do activities that used to be fun
- Feeling irritable easily frustrated or restless
- Having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- Waking up too early or sleeping too much
- Eating more or less than usual or having no appetite
- Experiencing aches, pains, headaches, or stomach problems that do not improve with treatment
- Having trouble concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions
- Feeling tired even after sleeping well
- Feeling guilty, worthless, or helpless
- Thinking about suicide or hurting yourself
The following information is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis of major depression and cannot take the place of seeing a mental health professional. If you think you are depressed talk with your doctor or a mental health professional immediately. This is especially important if your symptoms are getting worse or affecting your daily activities.
The exact cause of depression is unknown. It may be caused by a combination of genetic, biological, environmental, and psychological factors.2 Everyone is different but the following factors may increase a persons chances of becoming depressed:1
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Take Care Of Yourself
You can also improve symptoms of depression by taking care of yourself. This includes getting plenty of sleep, eating a healthy diet, avoiding negative people, and participating in enjoyable activities.
Sometimes depression doesnt respond to medication. Your healthcare professional may recommend other treatment options if your symptoms dont improve.
These options include electroconvulsive therapy or repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to treat depression and improve your mood.
Working With A Mental Health Professional Or Treatment Program
Once the diagnosis is made, the professional can then advise the individual on treatment for the condition. Depending on the type of condition and severity, there are several general treatment types that may be prescribed, either alone or in combination, as described by the American Association of Community Psychiatrists:
- One-on-one work with a counselor or psychiatrist
- Outpatient treatment through a treatment program
- Inpatient treatment through a rehab or treatment center
- Hospitalization or other emergency measures
The care plan will be determined by the treatment professional based on the severity of the disorder, how well the individual is able to function, the expected potential for recovery or relapse risk, the persons living environment and its ability to support recovery, and the individuals safety risk, among other factors.
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How To Get A Diagnosis
There are multiple steps that can be followed to get an accurate diagnosis for a mental health disorder, summarized by Mayo Clinic. The first step is to see a doctor regarding the symptoms. This can rule out any physical conditions that may be contributing to the condition. Sometimes, chronic illnesses like diabetes or acute onset of conditions like cancer can cause changes in mood or ability to cope. As a second step, lab tests may also indicate that theres a physical component to the mental symptoms and behaviors.
Its important to bear in mind that physical ailments can also result in mental health disorders, so just because theres a physical reason for the issue does not mean a mental health disorder is not present. For this reason, seeing a mental health professional as a follow-up step, such as making a visit to a psychiatrist or psychologist, can help. The type of mental health professional selected may depend on the type of mental health disorder suspected. For example, if substance abuse is the potential disorder, it can help to select a professional addiction treatment or rehab center to determine the diagnosis.
Talking To Your Gp About Depression
When youre depressed it can be difficult to imagine that treatment can actually help. The sooner you seek treatment, the sooner your depression will improve.
Conditions such as an underactive thyroid can cause symptoms of depression. Your GP will do a urine and blood test to rule this out. There are no physical tests for depression. Your GP will tell if you have depression by asking you lots of questions. You will be asked about your health and how it is affecting you mentally and physically.
Try to be as open and honest as you can be with your answers. Describe your symptoms and how theyre affecting you.
Any discussion you have with your GP will be confidential. If you have thoughts or urges to harm yourself or others your GP would speak to your family and friends.
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What To Consider When Choosing An Adhd Specialist
Working with an ADHD specialist is kind of like a mix between finding a new therapist and finding a specialist. You want to consider not only their professional and medical qualifications, but also whether or not their approach to diagnosis and treatment aligns with your interests.
ADHD Focus
To start, youll want to work with a doctor that is actually specifically trained in evaluating and treating ADHD. While a wide range of mental health professionals are certainly capable of providing an accurate diagnosis, some specialize in certain mental health issues, or at least have a history of working with a specific group of patients.
In this case, ADHD is a fairly common mental health concern, which means there are usually specialists that spend a lot of their time working with ADHD patients. This simply means that they are likely to have a deeper pool of knowledge and experience when it comes to recognizing, diagnosing, and treating ADHD, even if a patients symptoms are obscured by age or other factors.
Finding the Right Fit
Because ADHD is a mental health concern, there are all kinds of ways that people go about treating and caring for ADHD patients. Its kind of like shopping around for a therapist.
Most ADHD specialists are extremely professional and compassionate, but you may find that some have personalities or experience that is closer to what makes you or your child more comfortable.