depression help: Is it normal to be embarrassed about depression? - Help.com

If you are contemplating suicide, hurting yourself, or you are seriously depressed: please, seek professional help!

Call this hotline (1-800-273-8255) operated by our friends at the
Suicide Prevention Lifeline, anytime, for free, professional, and
confidential assistance. While other Help.com users are likely to reply
to your post, please make sure you understand that your use of Help.com
falls under our TOS.

Note: I’m a robot that the Help.com staff created. If this response is in error, I apologize, please ignore it.

Yes, in fact there are many people who are embarassed about their depression. Only 1 in 4 people will actually seek medical attention for their depression because they are afraid to talk about it.
It is ok to talk about it though, especially with your mom. If you are showing signs she is probably worried and wanting to help you out with this. Depression can grow and grow until you have no control over it… let your mom help you. Talking about your depression can really be a small step to feeling better.

I guess its normal but i wouldnt be embarrassed to tell my mom because i tell her everything. For ppl who arent that close to their parents or find it hard to communicate with them on a more personal level will find it hard to express themselves to them

I’m not sure if I want to talk about it with her. I told her we’ll talk about it later. She said, and I quote, “YOU BETTER NOT BE…”

She’s really like a religious fanatic and she thinks the answer to everything is Jesus. She’s likely not to help and just make me feel worse about how I feel.

Alright… well perhaps your mother isn’t the first person you can start talking about this with. Help.com is a great way to talk to people or you can try seeking councelling. Perhaps if you are in high school still you can talk to the guidance councellor or they can direct you to someone who is fit to discuss depression with you. I mean even that helpbot at the top of these posts is giving you a number where you can call just to talk to someone…
Getting your feelings out and looking for that little bit of assistance will really help. I fell into a depression about 2 years ago the way I was able to realieve any of it was by talking it out with a therapist.

I will soon start therapy but I wasn’t so keen on letting my mom know about it. What do I do? Tell her and risk feeling worse or do I not tell her and leave her on the out?

I would leave her out. How old are you? If you are old enough to make your own decisions then i think you should be able to go to therapy without her knowledge/permission

I don’t need her permission at all. But we have become closer. We were really distant growing up and now we’re a lot closer and I don’t want to make her feel bad by not telling her. Then again I don’t want to have me feel worse. If I’m correct she’ll make it seem like I’m making it all up and tell me to snap out of it or some crap like that.

Hmm….Sorry to pick up on this kind of late in the game. ^_^

I kind of wonder if it would be a good move to pluck up all of your courage and try to level with your mom. As in something like, “If you really want to be close to me, there are a few things you’re going to need to accept about me that you might not necessarily be comfortable with.” She may be resistant at first, but…It’s a tough call. I mean, she’s your mom, so I’d figure she’d love you unconditionally no matter what you had to say. Even the most stubborn of religious type moms can come around eventually, if their hearts are really in the right place. On the other hand, religious issues have been known to screw up a lot of relationships, in which case you may need to ride it out until she’s ready to accept you for YOU.

It’s pretty common to be embarrassed to admit you feel depressed, but a great start to meet it head on and work toward relieving the depression. You’re on the right track, for sure! ^_^

I saw her earlier and decided not to tell her. I just wasn’t up for the fight. I know her too good and she is almost guaranteed to say you don’t need no psychiatrist all you need is Jesus. I’m not completely convinced Jesus alone can make me a happy more confident me (sarcasm).

Well, it’s understandable to not want to get into it with your mom. Sounds like you may have plenty to deal with already without the extra grief. Are you ok with hanging in there and just dealing with it in your own way until you start to feel better? Maybe just keeping your treatment to yourself and maybe a close friend until the depression is under control will be enough to hold you so that you won’t have to deal with telling your mom at all. Does that seem possible?

I’m not sure. I don’t really have any close friends right now. I’ll hold it together the best I can. If all else fails then I might let my mom in on it.

I wish you the best of luck! Maybe if you’re able to talk to a counselor, it would give you someone to vent it all on so that you may not even feel the need to talk to your mom about it, you know? I hope it all goes well for you, and you can get relief from your depression soon. It can be truly debilitating at its worst, so I understand to some extent what you must be going through.