[bostonkid508]

Hello everyone,

I'm ordinarily a happy-go-lucky guy that loves to laugh and live. I'm a 17 year old high school student that has several professional aspirations and has been meticulously planning for my future. I have no history of depression or any other form of mental illness,

but for the past week I've been experiencing major depression. The thing is that the depression comes and goes throughout the day. For a few hours I feel like my normal self and want to engage in activities, hang out with friends and family, etc. Then for a few hours I feel depressed and

Possible trigger:

have even contemplated suicide.

This all started about two weeks ago. But for one week the depression would only last 30-45 minutes a day. This week however the depression can last hours. I've never experienced anything like this. I don't I have bipolar disorder because I haven't experienced any restlessness or racing thoughts.

Here is some information

-I live in Southern California and it is currently foggy and raining.
-I have been consistently experiencing nausea in the early mornings.
-I feel tired sometimes
-The depression comes on randomly and can last for 30 minutes to 4 hours before it goes away
-I have never become aggressive or impulsive, my mood swings consist of depression and my normal self
-I have been depressed in both the sunlight and in the fog, however it is the changing of the season in SoCal and it has been particularly rainy.

I just want to know if mood swings occur with SAD...

I really hope I don't have to go on medications because I feel like it's going to **** up my brain. Please don't take offense, I just want to let out my feelings.

SHOULD I SEE A DOCTOR

[doggiedo]

I think if you are questioning your emotions and feelings, then it might be helpful to seek a doctor's advice/diagnosis.

I don't know much about SAD, but I do know a great deal about depression. It's difficult to say how it affects everyone, but major depression doesn't come and go in a matter of a few hours. Major depression, by definition, is something that you literally have a difficult time functioning and pulling yourself out of. It could last from weeks to months, to years.

Given your age, could it be likely that you might be having some hormonal changes that are influencing how you feel?

I wouldn't jump ahead and think about medication this early in the game. Just consider going to talk to someone - maybe your primary care physician or your pediatrician (if you still have one) can help, especially if s/he has known you since you were younger. They might be able to work from a baseline since they have known you for quite some time. Again, don't put the cart before the horse, so-to-speak. Give it time and just talk to someone first.

Good luck.

[Skeezyks]

Hello bostonkid508: I'm afraid I don't know enough about the intricacies of SAD to be able to say if what you are experiencing could be labelled SAD. From my perspective, I would think it is certainly possible. The other thing that may come into play here is all of the bad news we're constantly barraged with in the media. It's a challenge to remain upbeat when we're inundated with reports of terrible events, as well as with violent TV programs, movies, & video games, etc.

I've read that some of the brain research being done nowadays suggests that the subconscious mind reacts to things like violence on TV or in the movies as though it were actually happening in real life. So while consciously, we may understand that it's not something that is actually happening to us or is fictional, our subconscious minds react as though it's really happening to us or around us. This then tends to increase our general levels of depression & anxiety. And then if you're feeling at all down or anxious with regard to school, preparations for college, etc. the combination of all of this stuff, including the weather, may just be getting to you & causing you to experience some depression.

That said... it is also possible that there is something physical going on with you. So it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get checked out by a medical doctor. My best wishes to you...

[bostonkid508]

Thank you very much to the above two posters.

I'm involved in numerous extracurricular activities and they place a tremendous amount of pressure on me, so perhaps a combination of life events is causing an unusual level of depression. I have been feeling like myself all day today, so I think it is best that I stop frantically researching what could be ailing me. I think WebMD is causing more stress as of right now than anything else in my life

[doggiedo]

Yea sometimes that can happen. But do talk to your doc if you feel like you might want to be evaluated. Good luck!