Why do alot of people always use the "your too young to be depressed" excuse?

Older people always tell me that I shouldn't be depressed cause im only 18 and I should be out enjoying my life with friends and partying or whatever it is youngsters do these days. Then they say I should join clubs, go out and meet people and honeysuckle like that. They also say life gets better after high school, so i stop and think about that for a minute. If life gets better after high school, why are grown men/women feeling depressed and commiting suicide? people of all ages can fall victim to depression. Anyways, sorry for the pointless rambling I just felt i needed to share that.

They want to believe it's just a phase and that once you're in a new environment, that your mental illness will go away. It's because you're not fully mature yet, that they haven't accepted that it's a permanent part of your identity.

Your brain is still developing until you're 25.

I don't think that there's an appropriate age for depression. Anyone can get depressed. But I understand when people say that being young, you should enjoy your life while you can. I can say that the happiest days of my life was when I was a kid and I would give anything to be a kid again. but then I have to grow up eventually.

In some cases, your signature holds true. I guess what people are trying to say is that instead of focusing on why you are sad or depressed, you should try to make use of the fun things available to you, while you are still at a good age. Like developing interests and hobbies and making friends who share similar interests.

When you get older, you'll have to think of what you will do for the next years of your life. You have to think of getting a job that will support you or your family or future family. You have to equip yourself for what comes after because at that age, it will sink in to you that from this moment on, every step you take might be your last chance at getting the life you want for yourself. And those are scary shits.Then you'll have to think back about the things that you wanted to do, that you should have done while you were younger.

It's ok to be sad though, and each of us has our own story that no one can put down or belittle. But don't forget that while you are young, you have so many possibilities and chance to work on things you might miss out once you get older.

I hope you feel better soon

I think it's because usually, the younger you are, the less you know. However, I think 18 is old enough. You're not a child, and as a young adult, you're beginning to have real issues now. You have to keep in mind that a lot of kids - not saying you are one, but older people might view you as one - have a habit of creating or causing drama or problems. A lot of adults even do it. But you know what you feel, and no one can tell you otherwise.

Our society has a habit of drilling into our heads certain things we must do to be happy. We sometimes get so wrapped up in accomplishing these things (graduating HS, getting into college, getting a degree, getting a good job, having a social life, marriage/kids/house/retirement fund) that any slip ups or failures in these areas are inflated to be THE END OF THE WORLD! We make these things bigger than they have to be.

The older you are the more chances you've had to fresia things up and the more you can look back with regret. Or, in some instances more time to look back and laugh at how you made a big deal out of something that didn't matter for honeysuckle in the long run. There is a reason the age bracket of 65+ (retirement age) has the highest rate of suicide.

I'm not saying that "you are too young" is true, but these are probably the reasons people say it.

I think it's because the older the person the more life experience they have on you. They can't possible see how you can be depressed when you are just starting to actually live life, with all the responsibility and burden that comes with being an adult. You haven't seen hard times yet or what it's like to really be depressed about real adult issues. At 18 you are still a teenager, you still have that stigma and drama attached to it. Everyone deals with things differently, it is possible for a 10 year old to be depressed, but their depression could be parents divorcing, or feeling like they have no friends. It's different for everyone and everyone deals with it differently and everyone has their own definition of depression.

I believe that anyone who says, "you are too young to be depressed" has never experienced depression themselves. I am 53, and I am not about to say that to you. You can be depressed at any age and for a number of reasons. Some people are depressed because of their situations or many other things that are present in there lives, but there is also depression that is called "clinical depression", which is a chemical imbalance in the brain. If you think this may be the case with you, maybe you should try seeking help with a professional. Try researching this type of depression and seeing if you think it may apply to you. I am saying this, because I have been diagnosed with this type of depression. Besides psychotherapy, medication is the only thing that has helped my depression. However, if it is situational, I wish you the best in growing out of it.

rosemary retrospection

basically people always tend to look back on their past and think that they were happy and things were good at that age. They basically forget all the bad honeysuckle they went through and remember only the good timesd they had

It's actually an affect of memory, becasue they can't be young again it's they want what they can't have.

So they think well me and all my buddies were super happy at that age, I don't remember ever remember struggling to finish an essay on time or the painful all night study seesions I just remeber spring break and graduation

and that is all that is ggoing on at your life spring break and graduation so what in the world do you have to be miserable about

that's pretty much it in a nutshell

I mean why do people say highschool is the best time of your life?/

did they ever go to highschool

well they did but basically they have a selectiveanmneis repressing the bullies the loneliness and only remebered prom

evanescencefan91 said:

rosemary retrospection

basically people always tend to look back on their past and think that they were happy and things were good at that age. They basically forget all the bad honeysuckle they went through and remember only the good timesd they had

It's actually an affect of memory, becasue they can't be young again it's they want what they can't have.

So they think well me and all my buddies were super happy at that age, I don't remember ever remember struggling to finish an essay on time or the painful all night study seesions I just remeber spring break and graduation

and that is all that is ggoing on at your life spring break and graduation so what in the world do you have to be miserable about

that's pretty much it in a nutshell

I mean why do people say highschool is the best time of your life?/

did they ever go to highschool

well they did but basically they have a selectiveanmneis repressing the bullies the loneliness and only remebered prom

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Interesting!!

I hate it too, if I were too young to be depressed then I wouldn't be depressed, now would I...

WishingWell said:

I believe that anyone who says, "you are too young to be depressed" has never experienced depression themselves. I am 53, and I am not about to say that to you. You can be depressed at any age and for a number of reasons. Some people are depressed because of their situations or many other things that are present in there lives, but there is also depression that is called "clinical depression", which is a chemical imbalance in the brain. If you think this may be the case with you, maybe you should try seeking help with a professional. Try researching this type of depression and seeing if you think it may apply to you. I am saying this, because I have been diagnosed with this type of depression. Besides psychotherapy, medication is the only thing that has helped my depression. However, if it is situational, I wish you the best in growing out of it.

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I agree with this.

No one's too young or old to have actual depression. But people do sometimes use "I'm depressed" as a way of saying they're sad -- and being sad for a little while is not the same as depression. If they're saying you're too young to be sad, I think it's because they can't imagine what they were so worried about when they were young. As you get older, you have different responsibilities. Not acing one test is not the same as losing a job and the means to support your family. But hey, when you're a student, acing a test and graduating is what you are supposed to do and it IS a big deal. It's all a matter of perspective and unfortunately, we usually only have hindsight not foresight.

That said, when I was a college student I did relatively well with my classes, but I suffered from depression and anxiety. No one saw anything wrong because I seemed to be doing "okay" when I was actually very lost, scared, and hiding it.

StonedHitman said:

Older people always tell me that I shouldn't be depressed cause im only 18 and I should be out enjoying my life with friends and partying or whatever it is youngsters do these days. Then they say I should join clubs, go out and meet people and honeysuckle like that. They also say life gets better after high school, so i stop and think about that for a minute. If life gets better after high school, why are grown men/women feeling depressed and commiting suicide? people of all ages can fall victim to depression. Anyways, sorry for the pointless rambling I just felt i needed to share that.

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Hi Hitman, at the age on ten I was completely depressed, there are five years old children who are depressed, this said, it is true that if high school turns bad, it can be the single worst period of my life, so everything else is easier. Only sometimes grown up people forget that, because they don't remember well how horrible was high school. Or after many years they still complain about it, because they weren't able to forget. Or they had a great time in high school and get depressed for completely different reasons. To conclude my equal rambling, People of all ages can be depressed, but it is true that mostly life gets better after high school

No one is too young or too old to be depressed. Anyone who hasn't experienced the horrible depression that some of us have dealt with, hasn't a clue what it's like so they'll say anything because they just don't know what it's like. When I was young, I heard "You're too young too be depressed!" so many times that I can't count them. I am 56 now and still suffer from depression. What now? Am I too old to be depressed?

The reason is that, the underlying causes of depression are relative. The younger you are the less things there are that can get you down. If you're a teenager in high school, the only absolute responsibility you have is school, and obeying your family/parents. Everything else in your life is open to whatever your whims desire. Music, movies, friends, love, sports, partying etc. As you become adult you have to worry about work, bills, family, financial security, health, etc. That's on top of the same things you were worrying about as a kid.

Does that mean young people cannot get depressed? Of course not. Teenage depression is huge, because you're also at a point in your life where you lack the life experience and perspective to see how much "less serious" it is than you're making it out to be. There are teens out there who get suicidal, self-harm and legitimately think their life is over because their first boyfriend dumped them, or a friend stopped talking to them, or something of that nature. In the moment it feels hopeless, but if they could only get past this hump, one day they could look back and see how they dealt with much bigger problems without feeling nearly as hopeless as they got older. You never know how good you have it till you look back. There are some people who are of significant age here who have no friends, and are completely alone. There is also the occasional teen in high school who posts about the same thing. The adult 30 years older realizes how good the high schooler has it, but the high schooler is still in a state of depression. Life generally only gets harder, not easier, and while it's almost condescending to tell someone who is young they have their whole life ahead of them, and they are too young, it's kind of true, if they could only gain the older person's perspective.

When I was 21 I started down a road that lasted 5 years where I legitimately thought I had a gambling problem. I worked in college and saved. I had maybe 5 thousand in my bank account. I slowly gambled it all away over the course of a few months, and as my account balance shrunk, so did my psyche. I entered a constant state of happiness and depression depending on what just happened gambling. But one night, I used an online casino, and deposited, 500 dollars. I was down to my last blackjack bet of $50, when I went on a miraculous run winning $5500 dollars over the course of a few hours. I had one of the biggest highs of life. I had done the one thing every compulsive gambler in his life wished he could do, which is actually get even. The next day I tried to withdraw and they wouldn't let me, as there was a 48 hour minimum withdrawal timer on deposits. You already know what happened. I continued to gamble. Lost $25, lost $50, and in a very short span I lost it all. Worse than that I cash advanced another $1000 and lost that too in a single final bet. I've never had a "serious" suicidal moment where I actually tried something as I just don't have that mentality. Far too scared of the unknown. But in that moment, I felt hopeless, guilty, sick of myself, and I really did wish I was dead.

Looking back I can't believe how ridiculous it was in the moment. Because if I was a different person slightly. If I wasn't too scared to ever try anything, I really might have done something. All over a paltry $6500 which is absolutely nothing over the span of a life.