Hi RunswiththeEagle,

I'm sorry to hear that you are having this kind of problem. College is a very typical time and age for depression and anxiety to show up, but it's extra tough then because it's already a stressful environment with lots of demands.

Does your college have a counseling center? If it does, you probably could get some information there about options available to you.

As far as using your health insurance, if you are on your mom's policy, then yes, it's very likely that she would know if you saw a psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

One thing you could do that probably wouldn't cause a problem is to go to a primary care doctor to discuss your problems. It's always a good idea to do that anyway if you have depression. The primary care doctor can talk to you about general health and they often will treat mild depression without your needing to see a psychiatrist.

So if your college has a counseling center, you might be able to get counseling there and meds from a primary care doctor if they feel like you need them.

I have the type of depression where I wake up depressed and gradually feel better as the day goes on (unless my depression is too bad for that.) Some people wake up feeling okay then feel more depressed as the day goes on.

Depression is odd like that - things like sleep and appetite can get out of balance, but not always in the same direction. Some people can't sleep, others sleep too much. Some people lose weight because they lose their appetite, and others have increased appetite.

If you are not sleeping well, or if you're having a lot of trouble getting up on time in the mornings, it's important to let a doctor know that.

Anyways, that's my advice for now. Make an appointment with a primary care doctor or see your current one if you already have one (it can depend what your insurance allows.) And see if your university has a counseling center and find out if they can provide help to you.

If they don't have a counseling center, if you call United Way at 211, they are usually very good at knowing what sort of free or low-cost mental health facilities are available in your area.

I'm glad that you found the Psych Central forums. Lots of college students post here. It's a good place to talk about your problems in confidence, to get advice, and to see what other people are doing to handle similar problems.

Hugs.