Did you have depression as a teenager and 'grow out of it'?

[ZaZathecat]

I'm really hoping for some positive answers to this! Dd16 is depressed and has been having CBT for anxiety and panic attacks. She feels the depression comes from inside her and it's an illness and feels like she'll always feel the same. However she also feels like the world is a bad place so what's the point of anything, feels like an outsider at school because her few friends are not really on her wavelength, is very shy and anxious, and is lonely. Some of these things, I think, are common teenage feelings that improve when you find your place in society as you grow up. However I do worry in case she will always be this unhappy because of depression. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

I had very severe depression as a teen (aged 13-14). I am not really too sure what triggered it off but I went into a very dark place and ended up being bullied because of it (my friends thought I was weird) and that made it worse. I ended up missing a year off school and then starting a new school eventually. I had psychotherapy and was put on antidepressants.

Starting the new school really helped me, fresh start and all that and just being more accepting of myself. There are huge pressures on teens to "be" particular things and I didn't fit into any of them!

I have had smaller bouts of depression on and off throughout my adult life (now 36) but nothing like that teen one. And of course I have learnt to recognise it in myself now and get help sooner.

I went on to do very well at school etc and had a very good career. I am now married with two dc.

People certainly do get through and over teen mental health problems. The right treatment and support is key.

Fairylea, that's good to hear. Dd also feels like she doesn't fit into any of the teen ideas of how you should be.

Hi ZaZa, when I was 17 I was diagnosed with clinical depression and had a period of time when I was on antidepressants. I can only describe that time as feeling as though I was watching the rest of the world through a window and couldn't quite reach anyone. I had no motivation for anything and just felt incredibly sad all the time. I was also very anxious. After about a year it suddenly just 'lifted' and I haven't ever had an episode like that since. I was fine after the births of all three of my children (I did worry a little that I might get PND). I have been plagued with anxiety through almost my whole adult life though, this reached a critical point in 2013 and I had some CBT which was incredibly helpful and I can now manage my anxiety very well.
My sister also suffered very badly with depression throughout her teenage years and right up until she finished university. She is also well now and has not had any reoccurrence of her depression. Like others have said it's probably best to take each day as it comes, there is certainly hope that it won't go on forever.

I didn't grow out of it, but I did learn to manage it. I had a brief period of depression post natally, but I think that was more down to the circumstances I was living in and anyone would have struggled. The doctors put me on meds but after six months I couldn't cope with how they made me feel. I found exercise and pulled myself out of the depths and into a happier place.
As a pp said, I think age gives you more confidence and you think completely differently to a teenager. This in itself can really help. I have found that you do need to want to help yourself in order to get better, but when your brain is filled with "I can't" and negativity, it is hard to see the wood for the trees. I come from a long line of depression sufferers, it's hereditary for me. That just made me more determined not to turn out like my mother!

Ella, delilah, it's good to hear your stories. I do think many people are very different when they reach adulthood and are able to look at life differently. Especially if they find the right people to be around.