To all those dealing with depression/bipolar/or just feel alone

[Aussiemum777]

I can relate to the emotionless part of your story Rachel, I am the same, take me to a sad movie and I wont shed a tear, basically the only time I cry is when I am greiving over a loss.
Rachel, your parents shouldnt tease you about your not wanting to drive, anxiety can be very difficult to deal with, if you are not ready then dont feel bad about taking your time, some teens drive much later in life and your parents should support you no matter what you do, driving is scary to begin with and teasing you is only going to make the matter worse, starting out in a parking lot or here in Australia my kids learned to drive in an industrial estate where there were no other drivers except for the occasional other learner driver it was a good way of gaining their confidence, driving lessons are also great with a qualified instructor, a little bit pricey but well worth it, when I take my daughters out for driving lessons it is pretty scary because they arent very good drivers yet and to be honest I am not that good of an instructor so driving lessons are a better option for me us all round.
Rachel take your time and drive when you are ready, if you drive while you are anxious then you are going to be more prone to making mistakes out on the road which is only going to make you feel worse in the long run, Good luck!

[LancasterPrincess]

Rachel, I didn't get my license until I was 18 years old. I had way too much anxiety and it was much safer for me AND EVERYONE ELSE for me to stay off the road until I was ready. Nothing can be gained from being overly anxious behind the wheel, and it's beyond silly of your parents to not see that. Part of what they teach you in Drivers Ed is that if you're upset to pull over, and anxiety is no different.

I wasn't teased about it, but it irked my parents, and my twin sister because they had to drive me everywhere, but I'll never regret my decision to wait. I scored a 100% when I finally went and got the test. Not many people can say that, and I like to think it has a lot to do with me waiting until I was ready.

[TheHayleyDoll]

Lots of teens don't get their license right away. I didn't! Only a handful of people in my entire high school drove while I was in school. I don't even drive now, I just take the bus everywhere and use my license for ID. It's a little different living in a city though, and I don't know if you live in one.

I'm currently going through a decline, feeling like my life has no purpose, and I'm just "going through the motions" of day-to-day life purely for survival. I feel like I'm... stuck. Because of this, I also feel emotionless. What's the point of feeling anything? It usually these feelings that fuel my depressive episodes. Unlike Aussie, I feel like I have absolutely no reason to get out of bed in the morning, I just get up anyway so my hubby and my parents don't think anything is wrong. >_>

[belladoggy]

Rachel, I'm almost 20 and I STILL haven't gotten mine because of bad experiences my first time out. I need to get it, but I'm SUCH an anxious driver (and person overall, really...between the anxiety disorders and the ASD, it's a wonder i can function at all). Don't feel bad; I know it can be difficult for people to understand how scary driving is for some of us. But just keep practicing in parking lots; that is what i'm doing until I'm confident enough to be out on the streets.

[eros]

Thank you so much girls for the advice and comfort! It makes me feel better about taking my time driving.
Has anyone here ever taken a "happy pill"? I know my aunt has for her migraines to ease her pain. I wonder if they could help me be a little more excited about things.

[eros]

So right now I'm staying home from church (again) because I'm feeling like a piece of crap. No matter what medicine I'm taking my allergies just won't go away. I spent 4 hours, inbetween sleep last night, blowing my nose. Probably went through about half the kleenex box.
Anyways I just broke down about a few minutes ago. I'm still teary eyed now. And I really don't know why. (Maybe PMS) It may be because school has started and I'm so stressed between school, church, and other activities. And my guy friend, we haven't been communicating much. I feel like we're slowly slipping apart.
I joined cheer leading because my parents were tired of me not being involved in school. After last practice, since I'm the only one who is entirely new to it, I feel stupid looking clueless when everyone knows a cheer and I don't.
After my breakdown, I went online and checked depression symptoms. It looks like I may have either SAD or Dysthymia. SAD because I never really go outside. Perhaps I should start spending about 30 minutes or so just getting some Vitamin D and good ole sunlight.