Am I depressed? What can I do about it?

Am I depressed? What can I do about it?

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Life is full (and messy)

High school is a lot. It’s a messy, brilliant, frustrating, and amazing mix of everything, all at once. One day you’re on top of the world, and the next, it feels like that world is weighing down your backpack. That’s not just you. That’s the deal.

Life is complete. It is full to the brim and spilling over. It contains moments of joy, connection, and success right alongside moments of disappointment, stress, and sadness. Nobody gets a pass on the rain. It’s impossible to completely avoid the hard stuff, so you have to recognize that this mix is normal. It’s what being human is all about. In fact, experiencing the tough parts is often what allows us to fully appreciate the good ones.

Trying to numb the low points can make the high points feel dull, too. Accepting the whole range is how you get the full, vibrant picture. So, if you can’t control the chaos, the pop quiz, the friendship drama, the things that just happen, what can you control? The meaning. You get to decide what your experiences mean for you.

This is your project to start, right now. You are the author of that story, not just a character things happen to. And here is a simple, powerful truth to build that project on: Every moment prepares you for the very next moment. No experience is wasted. Every single thing you go through, good or bad, contains seeds of wisdom, compassion, and understanding. It adds depth to your character and helps you see others more clearly. 

Even the really hard stuff is building a resilience in you that is real and powerful. That difficult group project? It’s teaching you patience. That awkward conversation? It’s building social awareness.  It’s all material for the person you’re becoming.

When it feels like too much

Sometimes, that weight in your backpack gets heavy. Maybe it shows up as crying often, feeling irritable, losing interest in things you used to love (which is also known as anhedonia), or just wanting to shut the door and be alone.  Maybe you feel exhausted, or overly sensitive. It’s common to isolate, to dive into your phone, to sleep too much or too little, all while a critical voice in your head says nothing matters.

If you’re asking yourself, “Am I depressed?” that question itself is an act of courage. Many people feel too ashamed to even wonder.  Only a professional can give a diagnosis, but knowing what’s common can help you understand your own experience. These feelings are a signal, not a life sentence.

Depression often acts like a cycle. when we begin to think and feel depressed, (like “nothing I do matters”),  we begin to DO depressed (isolating, avoiding, procrastinating).  Those actions then feed back into more depressive thoughts and feelings. It’s a loop.  Seeing it for what it is, a cycle, not a permanent truth, is the first step to stepping out of it. It’s like being stuck in a mental rut. The path out isn’t by staring at the rut, but by taking a step, however small, onto new ground.

Remember this clearly: You are not your thoughts. A thought like “I’m the worst” or “This will never get better” is a symptom, not a fact.  You are a person having a thought, not the thought itself. Sometimes, you have to talk back to your brain instead of just  listening to it.

Breaking the cycle: your move

How do you interrupt that cycle? You move, literally. The quickest way to change how you feel is to change what you’re doing.  Your brain might be screaming to stay in bed, but your power lies in action.

The goal isn’t to go from zero to perfect. It’s to go from zero to one. One action. When you see yourself stuck in the loop, pause. Point at it. Say, “Ah, there’s that cycle.” Then, ask one simple question: “What is one small, helpful thing I can do right now?” Don’t aim for perfect. Aim for progress.  

Here are some ideas:

• Go for a five-minute walk.
• Text a friend just to say hi.
• Spend ten minutes cleaning one corner of your room.
• Take a shower.
• Help with chores.
• Do 30 minutes of homework.
• Go sit where other people are, even if you don’t talk.

The two most powerful resets? Physical movement and helping someone else. Action creates momentum.  Helping others gets you out of your own head and reminds you of your own value. It shifts your focus from what you’re feeling to what you’re doing, which is where your agency lies. As you sprinkle your life with small, meaningful actions, you begin to feel that life is meaningful. The feeling follows the action, not the other way around.

The foundation for everything

Reject the idea that struggling makes you weak. There is zero shame in feeling overwhelmed. Express it. Talk about it with someone you trust, a friend, a family member, a counselor at school.  Asking for help isn’t a failure. It’s a strategy, and a smart one. It breaks the isolation that feeds the cycle.

The ultimate discipline in life isn’t just math or writing. It’s building a strong mind. It’s peace of mind, it’s joy, it’s having an amazing psychology, and fixing our perspectives. It’s developing compassion, confidence, and understanding. These are the skills that form the foundation for everything else you will ever do. They are the real tools for navigating not just high school, but everything that comes after. Your life is grand, complete, and full. It’s also real and sometimes really difficult. You are built to handle both. Carry the truth that every moment is preparing you, and use it. Start small, but start. Move, help, trust the process.

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