Jim's Story

"Things in my life were going all right. I had just gotten my GED and was starting a new job in a week. My family was really proud of me. But inside, I was feeling terrible.

"At first I was feeling sad all the time, even though I had no reason to be. Then the sadness turned into anger, and I started having fights with my family and friends. I felt really bad about myself, like I wasn’t good enough for anyone. It got so bad that I wished I would go to bed and never wake up.

"My older brother, who I always looked up to, saw that I wasn’t acting like my usual self. He told me straight out that I seemed depressed and that I should talk to a doctor about it. I hate going to the doctor. I thought, "No way am I going in for this."

"But after a few weeks, I started having problems at work too. Sometimes I wouldn’t show up because I wasn’t able to sleep the night before. When I got fired, I knew I had to listen to my brother and get help.

"I saw a doctor at the health clinic. He told me I had a common illness called depression and that treatment could help. So I started to see someone at the clinic each week for "talk" therapy. This treatment helps me learn to control depression in my everyday life. It has taken some time, but I’m finally feeling like myself again."

It takes courage to ask for help! There is help out there for Depression