Am I allowed to make decisions whilst I'm depressed??

Of course you are entitled and allowed to make decisions whilst you are depressed I think I read in another of your threads that you are Muslim? Whilst I'd encourage you to keep questioning and exploring your faith, etc. it's worth remembering that things like feeling connected to God can be difficult when one is feeling depressed. My priest (I'm Catholic) keeps telling me that sometimes irreligious people become religious when experiencing mental health problems, whilst religious people start doubting and becoming less/non-religious. So try not to let the fact you are not feeling connected throw you too much. But do keep exploring and don't take things at face value

Do you mind me asking how old you are? Do you have to decide about pursuing medicine as a career anytime soon?

Please do make that phone call, or if you have a phone phobia (like I do!), go back to your GP and tell them that You deserve to get help and shouldn't suffer any more in silence

Thank you for that it really helped clear my doubts up and it kinda makes sense :L

I'm 17 and yes I need to decide asap. I have my AS results which were really rubbish and so i need to decide if im gonna resit the year which will in turn affect my medical school application etc

Turns out, I cant actually refer myself there because they only take patients who are 18 and over :L I'm scared to go back to the GP now because they might just dismiss me :/

Thank you for that it really helped clear my doubts up and it kinda makes sense :L

I'm 17 and yes I need to decide asap. I have my AS results which were really rubbish and so i need to decide if im gonna resit the year which will in turn affect my medical school application etc

Turns out, I cant actually refer myself there because they only take patients who are 18 and over :L I'm scared to go back to the GP now because they might just dismiss me :/

Don't be scared of your GP dismissing you, they're there to help you! If you feel like you have a problem and they're telling you to do one, go to a diff doctor. Don't make the same mistake my friend did.

I would say, depression you is negative you. Which is the opposite of how you'd normally behave and think. It's like Sasuke you, dark side you, evil you. I like listing these examples oo this is entertaining. So what if a decision you make now whilst you are depressed isn't a decision you'd approve when you're giddy?

So I would say, first thank god you're thinking straight and actually contemplating the whole idea of whether to trust decision making skills during depression, and secondly to act on that by remaining in a logical way of thinking and first getting yourself back to being a gobildy goop like us

Hope you don't mind me giving my 2 pence....

You said you got rubbish AS results and that you feel depressed, one thing that comes to my mind is, is there really any point jumping right in and resitting AS year? What's to say you're not going to go down the exact same path again? While I didn't really have problems with my mental health at school, when I was at university I kept doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results ("Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" - Albert Einstein,) This was a huge mistake on my part. I would really recommend sorting out your mental health andthen deciding what you want to do. You don't want to throw yourself back in just to fail again.

As for the doctor, he shouldn't dismiss you if you tell him what's going on. A good doctor should want to do their best to help.

I'm also scared of what I'm going to say and stuff or what if they dont believe me? I dont always come off as "depressed" because I am really good at acting all hyper and happy when it actually just feels empty and sad inside. What if they blame results and blame me for not revising therefore I am now stressed. What if they just say "talk to someone" but I have no one to talk to...

I feel like I have to make all these big decisions now with careers and resitting and changing courses etc now. I have a feeling I will probably go down the same path I went before which is why I am trying my hardest to get help now even though I was meant to try and get help as soon as exams finished. I keep putting it off and its only making things worse. But the only time I did try and get help, I get refered to a counselling place which I cant even use!

I dont even know how to START with telling a doctor what is wrong! I might not put my case forward in the right way or they might want to involve my parents etc

now i just realized, an appointment will take like 2/3 weeks to get and thats when school starts. Its also way like a week before i have to "reregister" at my sixth form and choose my subjects to carry onto A2.

Ohh ffs why didnt i do this when exams finished

Thank you for that it really helped clear my doubts up and it kinda makes sense :L

I'm 17 and yes I need to decide asap. I have my AS results which were really rubbish and so i need to decide if im gonna resit the year which will in turn affect my medical school application etc

Turns out, I cant actually refer myself there because they only take patients who are 18 and over :L I'm scared to go back to the GP now because they might just dismiss me :/

I know this will sound weird, but maybe write down how you feel when you're at your lowest point, then just give that to the doctor? In the note put down all of your insecurites and how you don't have someone to talk to. Best of luck man, you can get through this!

Do you have a teacher at school you get on well with? Or some schools have like a career guidance counselor type person? Either of those might be a good place to start with exploring your options. I know it can seem overwhelming when you don't know what path to take. If your school can't help, are your parents amenable to discussions about what to do? If not maybe an older sibling or cousin? I think there are government organizations in the UK that help direct people where to go, I suppose a google search might help with that.

It might be that your doctor didn't realize the counseling place was only for over 18s - a lot of GPs only have a basic knowledge of the NHS' mental health system. Have you tried calling the place and asking if they can recommend anywhere for under 18s? I think the law is slightly blurry in the UK for confidentiality for teenagers between 16 and 18 but a lot of doctors won't get your parents involved if you ask them not to. You could always ask the individual doctor what his policy is before telling him what's going on?

As for what to say, I advise sitting down at a time you're feeling relaxed and have no distractions and bullet pointing everything that comes into your head. Don't worry about making sense or ordering things, just get it out; you can look it over later. You can then use this information as a starting point when you get into the doc's. And really, I think you should see one sooner rather than later - as you've probably experienced, depression can get worse quite easily and there can be long waiting lists so seeing someone soon would be good.


I hope you feel better soon.

Take deep breathes bro, it's all gunna be ok. Email your current situation to your school and tell them, that the decision you're making may change because you're not in the best state of mind. I'm sure someone there will be able to talk you through it.

I realised I had depression about a couple months after my parents had asked me if I was feeling depressed. At the time I denied it.

I had this crazy idea that I would book a counsellor and pay for it myself. I'd do everything under the radar and would quickly get better without anyone knowing. I was scared of telling anyone worried i'd be judged but I'd lost all interests, I couldn't concentrate on work, was tired all the time and would have random bursts of anger. I've still only told one person my age and this is coming up to 3 years later.

Definitely get a counsellor. I started with one in about April and its the best thing I've done. As much as I love my parents there's things I won't tell them out of fear they'll think less of me but with a counsellor they're not allowed to tell anyone so it feels safe

Do see a GP with your parents and discuss it with them. You'll be asked a bunch of questions and they can easily tell whether you're telling the truth. Being happy around everyone is common when you're desperately trying to cover up depression. GPs can prescribe medication which has helped me.

You're fine to make decisions. In fact looking at careers will help you take your mind off things.

Yes you definitely can make decisions at this time but that doesn't mean you won't change them later. I think it's important to talk to someone else about this because these are some big decisions. You could tell them your plans, what you want in life, and let them see if it all makes sense (and it should). Just because you're not in the happiest of moods doesn't mean your thinking is impaired - in fact, it might be the opposite because you're now aware of what makes you satisfied and what doesn't! So don't give up on yourself, trust your gut (+ logic) and good luck!

Apologies for the late reply. Ah yes, med schools can be a bit funny about taking three years to do a course, don't they? I think someone above gave very wise advice about not jumping back into things too soon.

Any good GP would not dismiss you at all - they would want to help you