EquALLity wrote: ↑Thu Mar 08, 2018 10:14 amIs that because you don't trust people in general?
I suspect that's true if they have any relation to me. I definitely trust experts in a field, for example, to know more than me and offer me the best guidance with respect to their study.
Are you sure that loneliness is the primary cause of your depression?
Yes, I think I lack solid platonic and romantic relations. I have a reliable family, do well in school, and have goals. This is a good question to consider anyways though.
For example, when you recently relapsed, did that happen after you became more lonely?
Yes.
If so, is this always the case when you relapse, and is it also the case that when you become less lonely that your depression starts to go away?
Yes. I think the last 3 instances of my depression have come initially from an unreachable romantic interest, which reminds me how generally lonely I am. I expect I will be less affected by this infatuation as I age.
I ask because being depressed can cause you to withdraw into yourself, making you more lonely, so it could be the depression causing the loneliness.
This is true as well, but I would describe it as exacerbating my depression. I withdraw myself after I become depressed. I am currently trying to be very social, though I did initially attempt to block everyone out and might again if a plan my parents and I have been working on with the school district for hospital study goes through.
Perhaps you should work on trusting people, although I'm not sure how.
If you do come up with any tips, I'd appreciate it.
Have you ever had close friends and/or people you have trusted? If so, how did you come to trust them?
I'm not sure. I was open with my last set of friends, I think. I told them about my past depression, but I didn't ask them for help with my current depression. So I probably didn't trust them. I have the sense that I might trust my step-mom and my brothers, but I'm not sure why or how, and I never play on that trust, so maybe I don't at all.