Feeling helpless during the worst of my depression made me doubt myself. It seemed like everyone around me was doing just fine on their own and I was constantly asking for help or not following through with things that I needed to do. That’s when I started questioning myself. Am I really depressed or am I just being lazy and trying to get out of something? Am I just afraid to take responsibility? Am I just fooling myself? But did you know that feeling helpless is a depression symptom?

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and new relationships create a challenge. We all know borderline personalities have an issue with relationships, but is there a way to make it start out more healthy--can we learn to take it slow? Let's look at the importance of taking it slow with BPD and new relationships, and how borderline can make it difficult to not get caught up in the moment.

Life after depression treatment isn't what I thought it would be. I always thought the depression would fade away after my treatments concluded. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) had brought me out of a non-functional state. After transitioning to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), I was feeling even better. My medications were finally working. I was no longer numb. I was capable of emotion again. At last, it seemed like the depression was finally gone. But life after depression treatment wasn't all roses.

My name is Jenny Capper, and I am now co-authoring Mental Health for the Digital Generation. I am so honored to be writing for HealthyPlace. I have been struggling with major depression and anxiety for 12 years. It is my hope that sharing my experience with mental illness will help you or your loved one feel understood and not alone.

Never give up hope. Sometimes in your life, it comes down to seconds before you feel like the whole world is going to fall apart--your whole body is filled with disappointment and you don't know if you can keep on fighting. That was me, along with the million other fans, yesterday during the Minnesota Vikings vs New Orlean Saints playoff game. But with 10 seconds left, a miracle happens that reminds me that if you never give up hope, what you may think is impossible can change everything.

It's so hard living with chronic pain--something that people can't see from the outside--and constantly feeling the need to justify how you feel or act towards others. Being someone with both mental and physical health problems have left me on a rollercoaster of never feeling like I'm good enough.

Therapy is always a scary thing, but when you're going into couples therapy with the person you love, it can take on a whole new level of intimidating. I have decided to take the step of asking to go to couples therapy with my boyfriend--is going to couples counseling the right decision?

The difference between being depressed and having depression is the difference between sadness and a mental illness and may be the most common misconception about mental illnesses. You could have just went through financial troubles, went through a break-up, had a death in the family, or maybe lost some friends; there are plenty of reasons you could relate to things on HealthyPlace--this does not necessarily mean you have a mental illness. Let me explain about being depressed and having depression.

Mental illness in youth can be triggered by many life events and it's not always easy to spot. After all, when you're a child, you're constantly discovering new emotions. But where do we draw the line? When do we decide that it's a little more than just the common emotions of growing up? The quicker we see mental illness in youth, the better.

One of the hardest symptoms of bipolar disorder is racing thoughts. These racing thoughts can lead to flashbacks of things you've tried to forget. When I'm manic, I'm left with little-to-no sleep because I just can't seem to shut my mind off. I'm left reliving every bad thing that has happened to me and I begin to obsess about everything that could happen to me. Bipolar's racing thoughts are hard to deal with.