About a month ago, I was counselled for depression symptoms. The school counseling center doesn't diagnose, but it felt like the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders. I felt so validated and relieved, knowing that what I felt was normal, and strangely, I was relieved to hear that what I was feeling were depression symptoms.

The thing is, though, I didn't think I was feeling symptoms of depression until I became more in tune with my mental functioning. I don't know how long they've been there. They could have been there for years and I've never known because I also have ADHD, so symptoms such as trouble concentrating, trouble sleeping, anxiousness, and difficulty completing even minor tasks overlap between ADHD and depression. For a while, it was hard to differentiate the root of those problems.

I have multiple friends who suffer from depression, and my symptoms were different from theirs. Depression and its symptoms manifest differently in everybody, and this I knew, but I thought I wouldn't be the exception to that. Because of this, I played it off as having bad days, being tired because I didn't sleep enough or was stressed out, trouble concentrating because of my ADHD, and difficulty doing minor tasks because of my ADHD.

One day I had a mental breakdown over having to clean my room. I called my mom crying to her because it seemed like such a difficult task. While I was on the phone with her it occurred to me that maybe I was depressed. I started looking up symptoms and found that I matched a good amount of them. I started thinking back over the last couple weeks, and the symptoms have persisted for a few weeks.

I finally scheduled an appointment with the counseling center, and although I wasn't diagnosed with depression, I was relieved to hear that I was experiencing symptoms. It was so relieving and validating, and it answered so many questions and explained almost everything.

I thought I would be the last person to experience these symptoms, but I'm glad I was able to catch them before they got worse. If you think you may be suffering from depression, do not hesitate to seek help. Even if you don't reach a diagnosis, it's important to be in tune with what you're experiencing and get help for it before things get worse.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255