5 reasons why feeling depressed might make you not get help

It is hard saying that its time to get help for how you feel for a lot of different reasons. One of the most common reasons is because the actual symptoms of depression can make it tough to want to get help.

1. Guilt — Depression can make you feel like everything that goes wrong is your fault.  You also feel bad for all kinds of different things. Some young people feel bad that they would have to get treatment for depression, too. They think only if they could take care of their problems on their own, they wouldn’t have to ask for help or trouble their parents to take them to the doctor or therapist. The fact is that depression is not your fault – just like any other illness or disease is not your fault either.

2. Not feeling motivated — Part of depression is not feeling up to doing much of anything. You would rather stay in bed or in the house than face the world. Going to see a therapist or a doctor about an emotional problem is tough for anyone, but especially if you don’t feel like even doing things you used to think were fun. It can help to have a friend or family member go with you and try to help you get to your appointments so you can get better.

3. Having a hard time concentrating — Even if you do get to a therapist, participating in therapy appointments can be a lot of work. You need to really think about how you think and how you have dealt with different experiences in the past so you can learn from them. When you are depressed, you can have a hard time focusing and concentrating on things. Your brain can feel worn out and like mush – that can make participating in therapy hard. Be open with your therapist. If you feel like you can’t focus, they can change or slow down their strategy – or talk to your doctor about whether adding medications would help.

4. Lack of energy — Being depressed can be a draining process. You  might feel like you would rather be sleeping or just like you have no energy to do anything. Even if you were motivated, you’d have no energy to get yourself to actually do anything. This is another reason having a support person can be really helpful.

5. Sleep disturbances — Not being able to sleep well can really take a toll on anyone, but especially if you are already experiencing other symptoms of depression. Talk to your doctor or therapist about the problems you have with sleeping. Keep a sleep diary to help you let them know exactly what is going on. Everyone is different, but usually there are different strategies that can help. Getting good sleep can make a world of difference in how you feel. Here are some strategies which may help you.