I don't know that you would call it Depressed, although I have had bouts of depression. But, with me, I've always been a worrier, which leads to much stress and anxiety. My grandmother, when I was very young, told me that I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Yeah, but I'm sure that it's normal for people who suffer from moderate disabilities.

Yes I have.

Not my whole life. Only the portion of it after the love of my life walked out of my life.

No, I have not been depressed in an ongoing state my whole life. Only intermittently and not severely. But there are many people on Answerbag that I believe are depressed every day with some days being worse than others. I love that we can all be here for each other, what ever we are going through in our lives. I also would like to commend you for reaching out by sharing your challenges and what has helped you, your honesty, and compassion for others. I feel like you help people gently to see the positive. In other words you don't act as if people are petty for having feelings of depression even though they might have what sounds like an ideal life. No one is exempt from tragedy and illness. But to turn it around and use it to help others is a gift. You've asked an important question here and it's one I'm sure people will find and use for a long time to come.

Not in the least. Avoid talking about, and dwelling on, it. That helps.

I am managing it well now but it has been something I've struggled with from the time I was very young, probably about age eight.

Yes and I just assumed it was heredity and didn't do anything about it. Just yesterday I went to the doctors and decided I am tired of living this way. It's been over 50 years and I am ready and willing now to accept that I don't have to live like this or feel like this.

I've been depressed for along time...

No, i have had periods of depression but have come out the other side, but i dont take anti depressants regularly or anything like that. I find since ive had my two younger children i dont have time to be depressed!! before i could be very melancholy and find myself in a kind of 'rut' but not so much anymore. Also thanks to the great support of friends on this site i have come through some very difficult times.. they are wonderful - better than any anti depressant!

funny that you ask because i was just trying to recall the last time i remember being genuinly happy... i went as far as 4th, 5th grade and even then i remember having major depression episodes. the problem is that i dont know if my sadness can be classified as depression: it greatly affects what i think about myself and how i truly feel but a lot of the times i manage to cover it up with a mask of this really cheerful, talkative girl! however when it gets out of control i become totally unresponsive and drift away to some really terrible place in my head with all the overthinking crashing me down...and i can only imagine that i look like one of those 'crazy people' who live in their own world and everybody wonders what is going on in their heads...

yes i am ... most of the time...

actually i was feeling fine until i tried to answer this question.. now i'm not so sure j/k

too often =/

I can remember, as a child, sitting on the window sill and singing "I'm nothing but a nothing. I'm not a thing at all." I suspect that the stresses of my early life had me depressed from about 8 yo onwards. I was in and out of hospital from 6 months of age till 3. That left me very clingy and insecure. My parents fought constantly. My mother was dominating and verbally abusive. And I went through puberty at 9 1/2. I have dealt with the environmental causes of depression in counselling, and I am on anti-depressants for the physical side.

Not my whole life but a fair majority of it!

as long as i can remember...

since i was about 12 yrs old - but have most times managed to keep it undr control

no, there's been a couple of minutes of indifference and outright anger sprinkled with a few laughs in there

No. My Childhood years were sad at times. But I always seemed to get over it quickly and be happy again. My Teen years got a little tougher. But still I was okay. It wasn't until I got into my mid twenties and up. That I started having feelings of depression. Like other's that I have been around have said some days are good and some days are bad. We all have our highs and lows or if you would prefer it. "Peaks and Valley's."

most of it....finally tipped the scale to the + side for the first remembered time in my life a few months ago.

yes many times.

Yes. It's a symptom of living with a life-long disability. But I'm allowed at least short moments of happiness. They make me keep on trying.

i have at times felt depressed, but i think it could be hormonal - not a good feeling, but when im feeling like it, i just remind myself it will pass!

It is just an observation,but I would be very careful on what a doctor would say depression.The term does sell a lot of drugs but I would say the misdiagnosis could be 90%.Many people ,over the centuries had problems and had depression,but it is only temporary.I think very,very few are truly continually depressed.

No, I will never ever allow depression to dominate my whole life. Life is just too short and there is so much to be done. I have been down before but I was never out. Moments of sadness not depression may be humbling and sobering lessons for me to reflect upon life, take stock of it and to thank God for His assurance of the sufficiency of His grace.

I was "down" a few times, but I don't think I was ever depressed. AND since my surgeries in '01 EVERY DAY I'm optimistic! I see bright light, clear blue skies and chains of rainbows - from right in front of me to the horizon! At sunrise and sunset I see ALL of Nature's beauty and splendor! The pinks, purples, whites, oranges, reds, grays and blues of the rising and setting sun! In the evenings I see tens of thousands of twinkling stars in constellations and stars which I learned as a young man. I see different colored planets, the beautiful moon, comets, asteroids and "shooting stars" [meteorites]! How and why do I see so much? I'm "forever the optimist". To me, the glass is never half-empty. It's ALWAYS half-full! I feel the same today as I do every other day: I feel TERRIFIC! I feel GREAT! I'm EXCELLENT! And every other positive adjective and adverb! There's no other way for me (or anyone else) to feel or believe. Why do I feel that way AND respond that way? I'm a "survivor". I THINK I answered the part about being depressed my whole life. I'm DEFINITELY high on life! Now for the "Why". I have two true stories to relate: TRUE STORY #1: In 2001 I had two operations - 8 days apart. About 2 months after those operations, I had a meeting with my surgeon. He asked, "Ron, so HOW ARE YOU doing?" In a VERY positive, upbeat and enthusiastic tone, I answered, "I'M doin' GREAT, doc! How are YOU doin'?" He said, "I'm doing fine. Ron, doin' fine. You seem like you can handle what I'm about to tell you: I'm going to tell you something I don't tell to too many of my patients. Young man (I was 54), you had us quite concerned. But you made it through the procedures quite well. He put his hand on my leg above the point where where I had my surgeries. I looked down, noticed it wasn't a threatening gesture and looked in his face and eyes. He said, "Ron, you died twice on the operating table." Then we continued and completed our conversation and meeting. TRUE STORY #2: Earlier this year I was in the market. As I usually do, I struck-up a conversation with the person who is in front of me or behind me. On this particular occasion it was a gentleman - a total stranger. He asked how I was doing. I replied 'terrific', 'great' or some other positive response. I asked him, "How are you doing?" He replied, "I'm doin' great, too!" He paused for a few seconds, then said, "Yep, we're doin' better than ________ (A famous celebrity who passed away the previous day.). We're on THIS SIDE of the dirt!" I adopted and adapted that expression. When someone asks me, "How are you doing?, etc., this is what I reply, "I'm doing great! In fact we're BOTH doing great! We're on THIS SIDE of the dirt." Once in a while I get a laugh or chuckle. More often than not we continue our conversation. It only happened once when someone asked me what I meant. Thanks for asking your Q! I enjoyed answering it! VTY, Ron Berue Yes, that is my real last name! Sources: My wonderful family! My terrific teachers, instructors, professors, mentors and coaches! On a regular, dependable basis, I volunteer at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. "THE University of Hard Knocks" Also known as ("a/k/a") "life's valuable lessons".

Most of it. I am old enough not to have had the wonderful medical help now available!

Not my whole life, but when I turned 13 and my parents divorced and my father had to go through 3 major stomach surgeries the stress and pressure just wore on me. I'm still pulling myself back up, it's a joy to be happy - depression really does stink.

yes a lot of the time

no. i do whatever to keep myself occupied and you don't even have to think about it.

I was a happy young boy but after my parents divorced at age 10 I could never be happy again. I became very shy,introverted and self conscious; didn't have many friends, and so on. Gained weight, became a chubby teenager with all the mocking and rejection that brings. I was diagnosed severe depression at 15 and started using prozac. And I don't know anything about my father since 16. I was 18 when I got my first kiss and it was because I took this girl to the hospital and saved her life, she later kissed me. I was 21 when I finally got a girlfriend and it was thanks to a mutual friend that played match maker and got us together, it lasted less than a year before she cheated on me. I almost die of alcohol poisoning the next day after we broke up. And I failed all my college courses. My second girlfriend (for 2 and 1/2 yrs), well we had some problems, and finally after some crazy girl kissed me and I told her about it she declared that I cheated on her even though the girl wanted sex and I said no. I spent 8 months inside my college apartment and didn't get out of my room. I was diagnosed adult ADD then. I dropped out of college, not finishing the masters I was on and only had the thesis to go. Got a job some few thousand miles away and moved. Third girlfriend, cheated on me after 2 1/2 years, I gave her a chance but we finally broke up a year later. That was a few weeks ago. I'm 32 now, fat, single, unemployed, my mom supports me while I finish the masters (I came back 4 yrs later) so you can guess how I feel. I've tried all kinds of meds, right now take 300mg wellbutrin mixed with 120mg stattera (another doctor, add with depression). I came back to finish the masters because the depression wouldn't let me perform at my job and I was already on notice with hr that if I didn't improve I'd be fired (automotive industry engineer). I decided to quit before that happened. Im now nearly $60k in debt, no house, no nothing. I finish the masters this month but I've been sending my resume and posting it online and no luck... Since I'm 15 my suicidal thoughts come and go, the only reason I haven't tried is because I don't want my mother, sister and other relatives to suffer. I even know how to do it painlessly... So I think of my life as a sacrifice for the good of my family, I suffer so they don't have to. I'm unable to be happy. When I have something good I'm depressed because I know something will happen that will take it away, like my recent ex-gf. And another problem is that I don't feel attracted to women near my age, I mean no offense but I see them as old, and with too many men in their past. I can't even have a conversation with them, I'm more in tune with 20 year olds... But they see me as old... Yeah, I'll die alone.

I was depressed for a handful of solid years until I realized I have control over everything in my life. Everything. I changed my actions and reactions, my "self-talk" and my environment. The movie "The Secret" is a great one........

No, I used to be quite content. Depression hits now and then. It normally knocks me for a loop than fades away for a while.

Not at all but when I do feel depressed, it's situational depression.

i don't know. dont think so i had a pritty good childhood but from about yr5 plus it realy went down hill. So i was still in primary skl. At the age of 14 it has reached serious depression and i only just realised i realy need help.

Practicly. I'm only 13. I remember being 4 or 5, just sitting in my bed when it was bedtime, school the next day, just thinking about that the purpose in life was. I imagined all the people I loved being dead in coffins. My parents no longer breathing, my sister probably dying before me, and myself ending up alone. At the time I thought it would be better to be dead than live my whole life dreading it... but I didn't know what suicide was. I did know that there was no pain in Heaven, so it was comforting. I felt like this when I was 6 years old, too. I had no friends, 3rd graders always picked on me. I dreaded my everyday life. I finally found friendship the next year, in 2nd grade. A few years later, in 5th grade, I started losing all of my friends, they all started hating me, and I turned depressed yet again. But this time, I kind of understood the concept of suicide. Over the summer between 5th and 6th grade, I learned about depression, death, and suicide. I finally understood. The first time I had even come EXTREMLEY close to suicide was on January 8, 2007. I had an argument with my mother... Now I'm in 8th grade, cutting myself in class with some random staple, thinking of different ways I could escape this life... not like I'm going to do it though.

No, I remember a time when everything was okay

I would say I've been depressed my whole life, but that it was in"intermission" for one year. This is because I can only remember one year of my life where I felt normal. I am 22, an college grad with an accounting job. I have a guy that loves me more than anything in the world. No reason to be unhappy and that is what is so frustrating. I've generally always had a feeling of indifference. Looking back, I've definately failed at being close to people or family. I've always just had no interestin anything.I have no hobbies, no interest anda lack of friends just because of the "no interest." This indifference and lack of interest just prevents me from living life to its fullist.I've gone for help and it always seem to be "up to me" to feel better. But I just can't? Each day I question my existence, my purpose and I just try to go through the motions of life feeling hollow and dead inside.

On and off basically throughout my entire life since early childhood due to abusive childhood & young adulthood. As I answered though in another question, for two years I was completely happy becaues I found a man who love me for me and not just because I was cute and crazy and he thought I was sexual prey. Gentle sweet love from a man was one of my most depressing elements in life, however, due to the other part of my insanity and having been abused so long by men I caused myself to lose the only man I ever loved and since then I have been depressed on and off all the rest of my life.

yes even though I didn't know what depression was early on. I got suicidal for the first time at 13 and as usual my parents just thought it was not worth their time to deal with it..push it under the rug and it goes away.

Why cant I post an answer?

Basically on and off for 11 years. I'm struggling real bad right now, and am losing hope. I can't live like this, it's no life at all. I would wish what I have on NO ONE in this world.

Since I started puberty LOL. Well, that's when I was diagnosed anyway. hmmmmm, sucky sucky. Ya know, I asked the dr's (which I've had third and fourth opinions) if it could just be really bad pms, they all swear up and down it's Bipolar. Who knows- I suppose as far as "practitioners" go we'll never know, because all they do is "practice"

It started shortly after I met you and found out you have a boyfriend. :-(

No, for a while I though I amounted to something. I was wrong. +5

Yes I have! I have been depressed since I can remember, I can barely remember any good days, when I feel like myself at all. I have not had one day since I was eight that I didn't fall asleep to daydreams of me being dead, thats when I actually do sleep I have had severe insomnia since I was seven. I got to sleep today at 8am. I am so LOST at what to do

Depression and Aspergers Syndrome. The one (depression) has actually had a protective effect from the other (AS), since my inability to read social cues would probably have gotten me into a great deal of trouble if the depression hadn't kept me away from people. Depression for me has become a kind of backhanded blessing. +1

No, just since I was about 10.

nope.... I first remember feeling really depressed (like longer than a couple days) two years ago, toward the middle of eighth grade I've probably had a total of a month since then that I have not been depressed. Today is one of those days! :D

I've been told by a "professional" that I am incapable of feeling happiness. Does that count?

whole life.