Hello doctor, I am 15 and, I mean I do not necessarily think I have depression. I think I am a teenager dealing with teenage emotions. But I have strong anxiety problems, as does my mom (who has had a history with depression and mental illness). And I was just wondering why I feel lonely even though I am not physically alone? I have a loving family and hang out with friends regularly, but I often feel alone and end up being sad and lonely in my room. I go from happy to sad in the blink of an eye. Going to the gym and working out is a huge part of my life, I do it every day and love it. But recently I have not had much if any drive to go and would rather lay in bed. Should I be worried? Is feeling lonely normal? Am I just going through teenage emotions? I am also stressed about school starting up and have summer homework that is stressing me out.
Hello. Yes, it is normal if you do not even any strong physical stressor, worry or thoughts or preoccupations. Mood swings at your age are quite normal due to hormonal changes in teens. The important thing is to keep moving on and completing things rather than avoiding it, such as hitting a work out, meeting with friends, etc. Besides, if you ever feel overwhelming emotions or worrying about anything which you think have difficulty controlling than you must visit a counselor and seek help. Sometimes swinging in moods become difficult for young ones and they become apprehensive. Also, to make yourself relax, you can do the following, 1. Deep breathing exercises. 2. Walk for at least 30 minutes per day. 3. Workout if possible to release toxins out of your body. 4. Reduce smoking (if you do). 5. Avoid junk and spicy food, soft drinks. 6. Increase water intake. 7. Thought diary or journaling would be also helpful for analyzing and restructuring of thoughts (underlying cause) of the problem.I hope it helps.