My Teenage Daughter Is Possibly Depressed?

Question by Mihara Fujioka: My Teenage Daughter Is Possibly Depressed?
Hello, I only made this yahoo account so I can ask this question on here. Anyways, I have a 15 year teenage girl and her personality, mood, and attitude has changed as soon as she entered 8th grade in 2009. She is now starting 10th grade this September.

We take her to counseling every Saturday from 3-4 PM and she seems to get a raise in spirits from that but during the school year and even during the summer, she is just down.

In the past, my husband and I have caught her cut herself (this is what pushed us to call and schedule her with a therapist), she complains about being lonely when I know for fact she has many friends to talk to and call, she complains about having no boyfriend, she thinks she is the ugliest and fattest girl that walks this earth, and she cries over almost everything. I tell her over and over that she is beautiful and that her sisters, her father, God and I love her.

She cries about everything almost. I told her in the nicest way that life is tough and she needs to grow a thick skin. She sensitive and I learn to accept it over time. It seems like everytime I see her, she’s down or just got over a crying spell she had behind our backs.

She also had incedents in school where she lied to maybe get attention. During a session in school (im not too sure what kind of session) she lied and said that I was getting “abused” by my husband and started crying. The school conselor called and pestered me with tons of questions and I had a long talk about lying so freely. I told her that she’s shouldn’t be “the girl who cries wolf”.

She hates shopping because she insists she is the fattest person on the earth. I’m 163 lbs and shorter than her and she’s 140 lbs. She looks completely fine but she gets emotional and starts whining when we go shopping.

The latest situation which is making me very worried is that I came downstairs to get some tea and I heard her talking. At first I thought she was on the phone, but instead I peaked down the stairway before I went all the way down, she was not on the phone. She was talking to herself. She was laughing and having full conversations with herself. She seemed the most happiest at that point than any other time I encounter her. I researched some different mental disorders that are common in teenage girls and I came to the conclusion (from websites and her symptoms) that she has Depression or Bipolar I.

Her mood swings are typical for a teen girl, so I’m ruling out Bipolar I. She hasn’t cut for a while she told me (and I saw no fresh scars). I don’t understand what is going on. We live in a very nice area and we spend plenty of time as a family and we rarely fight.

The whole talking to herself and crying excessively is making me very worried. I talked to her and she said she feels lonely but yet she has many friends. She gets asked to parties on a weekly basis believe it or not. Even though when she hangs with her friends, she seems VERY distant. She used to in 7th grade stay the whole duration for a party or at a friend’s house, now she calls after an hour or 2 and asks can I pick her up so she can go home. She said it’s because she’s “tired” but I don’t believe it. This is the girl I used to argue with on the phone so she can stay one more hour at a friend’s house, now she spends less and less time with them even though she has plenty of friends.

Anyone have any ideas? I’m going to talk to her therapist tomorrow after her session and ask about what she’s been talking about (she, the therapist, and I have signed a paper that agrees that if I see strange behavior, I have the right to ask about what they have been discussing during their sessions. I haven’t done this yet, but tomorrow is the first time so I can see what’s going on).

I don’t know what else to do. She said she’s sad and lonely but doesn’t know why. Is it depression? What about the talking to herself? Is it a sign of a serious mental disorder that my husband and I need to pay attention to?

Please be mature. No rudeness. Thank you!
Also I have 2 other children, 2 girls and one is 13 and the other is 3 (big age gap with the last one!). In my 13 year old, I see none of these things I see within my 15 year old daughter.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this! 🙂
Also she has type I diabetes. She got diagnosed in 2000 at the age of 4.

Also does the not having a boyfriend thing making her sad and “lonely” persay? She has permission to date, but I don’t see her making an effort to date although she complains that she wants a boyfriend.

Best answer:

Answer by barbie1524
well it sound’s like depression.
you should go to the doctor and tell him the situation and give her depression pills.

Answer by Rach
Hmm, I can’t give you any answers as to what she has, but I’ve gone through a similar situation. It seems you’re doing everything that helped me overcome my depression/troubles or whatever it was.
I may be wrong, but maybe she’s getting bullied? This may be kind of a stretch but, perhaps she’s only getting invited to parties so they can tease her? Or maybe she just has reaaaally low self esteem.
-Also, I’m not saying your daughter is still cutting herself, but I’ve heard some people cut their thighs because it’s easier to hide. I’m not sure how you’d check but if you’re still worried about her cutting herself, it might be worth looking into.

Well I’m sorry I’m not really any help at all but I hope you’re daughter starts feeling better and happier!

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

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