Hi Bellag. Welcome to Psych Central. I am sorry you are suffering from challenges with your child and your own depression. Sleeping is really important, so talk to your doc if you can't get 7-8 hours of sleep.

Besides helping support each other many people here at PC also have a therapist to talk things out and a psychiatrist or psych doc to diagnose and prescribe meds to help balance things our.

The depression chat meets every Thursday night 9pm EDT EST. You need 5 posts or replies to other posts to use the chat room. schedule is here.
Anxiety chat is on Friday night 8pm EDT EST.

Some people find the forums give them the compassion and empathy they seek. http://forums.psychcentral.com

Please feel free to private message me or any of the Community Liaisons by left clicking on the name in blue to the left of their post) for questions or just to share.

lifestyle changes can give a little boost. Here are some of the things that help me. I have to watch what I eat because foods I eat can stabilize my moods or exaggerate them. A high protein low carb diet with snacks or meals every 3-4 hours will over time reduce my swings. I also avoid alcohol and recreational drugs because those can really increase depression.

Other lifestyle changes that help me are doing yoga, exercises, mindfulness, calm music, and being active on Psych Central.