Do I have depression?

by MH
(Scotland)

I'm not sure if I have depression or not. I feel guilty almost every day for no reason and I often burst into tears. I'm tired all of the time and my appetite has increased massively and I've put on a lot of weight. I used to cut myself and once overdosed but realised what I was doing and stopped. Now I'm starting to have these feelings again but they've come from nowhere - my life is good. So I don't know if I have it or not. Do I?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MH,

Thanks for reaching out. You have not given me a lot of information to go on so I can't really say if you have depression. Increased appetite and weight gain can be symptoms of depression. On my site, there are options to take a depression test to learn more.

The fact that you have urges to go back to cutting should be a serious concern. Commonly, people cut themselves to get temporary relief from strong emotional pain. Typically, there are some very deep, painful and, most importantly, unresolved emotional pain that is at the root of it all.

Your ability to stop cutting before shows that you have strong inner strength. However, it is not a solution. Until the deep feelings are worked through and resolved these urges to cut will resurface.

You state that your life is good and that may very well be true. What I would challenge you to think about is what might you be repressing? Is there something that "haunts" you that you have not dealt with? Have you had some traumatic experience that you have not dealt with?

We all have demons in our closet and it is so important to face them, process through the pain (as opposed to repressing it) and move on. Also, it is very important not to judge yourself. Instead, be commited to being your own #1 fan, to love yourself and all your imperfections and embrace the amazing person that you are!

I wish you all the best. If you have other questions please feel free to reach out.

Dana