The Past Semester

The past semester (since August) has been an especially difficult time for me.

Going back to August, a cousin of mine passed away. At that time I was just transferring to a new college and living in a new city. I left the city almost every weekend to go home to help out my family.

A couple months ago, I got news that my brother's girlfriend of over 3 years was just found cheating on him. My brother was immediately extremely depressed and began drinking a lot. He wanted to drink himself to the grave. I was in the city, and came home the next morning to see him.

My cat, who I have had for the past 15 years, was battling a form of cancer. We finally put him down right before Thanksgiving.

A very close friend of mine told me that both her parents died a couple weekends ago.

My father was just laid off, and my mother is close to losing her own.

We now have very little money, and it just seems as though things keep going wrong.

I know that my grandmother will most likely pass on this winter, as she has been sick for years and now she is getting signficantly worse to the point where she does not eat and is crunched in a fetal position 24/7.

I am truly struggling, because my support system of friends has fallen apart and I don't know what to do. I know I am moderately depressed and it would just help to talk to other people about this.

gosh, you have suffered so many losses in such a short time. I am glad you found PC. you will get a lot of support here.

when you go back to school next semester i encourage you to seek out some counseling. most colleges offer free counseling to students. usually six to eight sessions. i think it would be very beneficial for you to have some support in real life.

Welcome to PC. Hugs

No kidding! -- Bereavements, family stresses, school stresses, financial problems, new and shifting environments...

Post as much as you want. Our ears/eyes are open. With that, is there anyone in your local area with whom you can speak? In the US for non-emergency situations there's 2-1-1.

Oh yes, do look into Kaliope's suggestion about counseling at college.

I'm glad you found PsychCentral, but I am so sorry for all the sorrows that brought you here. With the situations you face, it's no surprise that you're depressed.

You'll find many folks here who've dealt with sudden loss of support systems. I hope you'll come back, and I hope you'll post often. The people here are generous, and I bet you'll find the same level of support I have.

Remember to take care of yourself. I can tell you're the family caretaker, so it's really important that you be okay.

Oh, and I'm sorry about your kitty--just lost my 20yr-old last yr.

Stay in touch.