Mental Illness

Simply a Rose to brighten your day,         And maybe lessen the cares in your way;         And also, too, to help you to know,         That in knowing you, many others grow!

  Welcome to Fun Advice!

  You used the word “counselor” so I’m not sure if that is the same as a “therapist”. If it is, fine, but if it isn’t then I think you need to talk with a therapist. (You may need to talk with a different counselor anyway.)

I don’t think you necessarily have to be classified as “mentally ill”. You just may have some serious emotional problems that, being unresolved, are causing/allowing you do some things which aren’t really mentally sound.

We all, at one time or another, have problems that we have difficulty dealing with. There is no crime or “fault” in that. The key is to reach out and communicate with someone who can help you see some of the alternatives.

  Information on teen depression:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_teen_teenagers.htm

Just remember, just because we get treated for something “mental” is not a negative. It just means being treated in the mind rather than simply in the body. It takes a healthy body and a healthy mind to overcome the trials and tribulations that life can place before us.

Think positive and be positive.

ok, I am not sure if what you have is wanting to put a label on yourself or not, but what I can tell you is that many people go through this! Especially teenagers! when they feel they do not fit in, or just the need to maybe get a little bit more attention! I don’t think its anything to be SUPER worried about. But continue to see your counselor!

Now about suicide ummm. you are 17… what can make you want to seriously take that route? When I was 15 I actually tried it… I was in the hospital for 2 weeks. where I saw smaller kids fighting cancer and people who actually wanted to live dying. It wasn’t nice. My counselor and I decided that when ever I felt suicidal again to take a list of all of the reason why I felt that way. The next session I brought the list with me and realized that if I had the will power to change a lot of these irrational thought and suicide attempts will go away. And it did!

you are 17!! Think for a minute… you will miss out on a lot of things.

oh and cutting??? yea been there done that! Don’t recommend it much … it leaves BAD scars and everybody asks questions about how you got them. I used to think cutting eased the pain… but I found out that soccer, and yoga do the same for me!

you might want to find a hobby and see if that helps relieve any stress you may be under!

TAKE CARE

hmm ok unfortunately there is no mental illness that accounts for self injury, which is why I want to go into psychology and hopefully get it added to the dsm, but for now, it has no name

as for the rest of it, uhm depression is a faulty thought process with irrational beliefs and behaviors… lol, your counselor seems to be of a school that doesnt like labels… I personally dont agree with it, but to each his own…

the whole bit sounds like depression…

but I really wouldnt bother with labels anyways… whether your depressed or just have poor coping skills, you still have issues, and I’d try to focus on solving those…