'What is wrong with me? I'm never happy and I hate school'
- Written by Louise Remond, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney
Hi, I was just wondering if something’s wrong with me because I’m never happy and never want to do anything and I’m getting really lazy and I really hate school. Thanks - Anonymous
Everyone experiences down days at times. Feeling flat is a normal reaction to something upsetting happening, tiredness or just being stuck in a rut. Usually our low mood is short-lived and improves fairly quickly as we resolve a problem, catch up on sleep or move on to something else.
There’s a difference between temporarily feeling a bit down and what you’re describing. The fact you’re “never” happy and “never” want to do anything, suggests this is probably more than just a “rough patch”. Constantly feeling sad, struggling with motivation and lacking interest or pleasure in anything, are all symptoms often associated with depression.
Are you also struggling with sleep, eating more or less than usual, feeling exhausted or irritable or finding it hard to concentrate? These are other common features of depression.
I feel low… all the time
Depression is much more far reaching than regular sadness. Symptoms are persistent and interfere significantly with daily life. Depression affects how a person thinks, feels and acts. People with depression tend to have negative thoughts about themselves, the world and the future. They often feel helpless:
Nothing I do will improve the situation.
And hopeless:
Things will never get better.
There are things YOU can do to help
While everything feels like a struggle now with your low energy levels and not liking school, why not try some of these things to help you move forward:
identify and challenge any unhelpful thinking which may be contributing to how you’re feeling. When we’re down, we tend to interpret situations in a biased, negative way. Work on developing more realistic, balanced thinking – this is a helpful sheet to aid you in doing just that
take action to to solve the problems affecting you. For example, if you’re hating school, identify specifically what you hate about it, brainstorm and evaluate possible solutions and implement the best ones
plan daily activities, no matter how small, that make you feel you’ve achieved something. Maybe start an assignment you’ve been putting of or simply have a bath
practice daily gratitude by thinking of three things you were thankful for, and writing them down. Balance out life’s negatives, by identifying the things that went well and the reasons why
Authors: Louise Remond, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney
Read more http://theconversation.com/what-is-wrong-with-me-im-never-happy-and-i-hate-school-120889