Stop telling me to be happy!

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I know people mean well when they try to cheer me up, but I'm sick of having to constantly pretend I'm happy all the time. I'm sick of people telling me that I should do fun and happy stuff when I feel like death. I'm not saying that getting outside of your comfort zone doesn't help depression, but this is never going away. I will always go through episodes like this and telling me to cheer up doesn't make ti any better. I can't force myself to feel better, no matter how hard I try. I will feel better at my own time, even if it takes years. No amount of therapy or medicine is going to stop that. This is just who I am now. It doesn't mean I won't ever be happy - just that sometimes I get so sad that I want to die.

Once upon a time, my chronic depression cleared up and I felt emotionally stable for over 2 years. All I know is, if I had the chance to do that again now, I'd jump at it.


>Nature and Depression<

I do not have a solution. I just thought you might be able to relate to the following blog post. (I know I can.)
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.co.uk ... t-two.html

One of the only ways I know that can reduce it is somehow hiding the fact you are sad from them in the first place. Then you will not have to deal with their attempts at solutions.

An old war vet with one eye yelled after me "Smile!" a couple weeks ago.

I don't get why strangers feel the need to tell others to smile. who are they the smile police?

u could respond by saying
why?
I can't move my face.

They aren't strangers, though. They are people who are supposed to be my loved ones and I do try to hide these emotions from them. But somehow, they just know. I've never been very good at hiding my feelings, I guess. It would just be nice for my loved ones to just accept that they can't do anything to alleviate my mood and that's okay - I don't expect them to. Just don't expect me to just make myself feel better when I'm doing the best I can.

I know you are trying not to offend them in their attempt to cheer you up or see what's wrong, and its hard to come up with a solution. Maybe you could explain to them as the opportunity arrises that you 'always look this way' and it is normal for you. That might stick with them.

that might help.

I feel this same way. I've never fit in with my family. I used to cry a lot for "no apparent reason" at night when I was a little kid. Now I stay in my room for pretty much the whole day, everyday. I plan to do things out in the world but I always end up staying here. I still live with my parents and brother. They all hang out together, watch football and movies, but I stay up here. I had a breakdown today. I kept it quiet. The day before yesterday I was about to cut myself. Today I lay down on the floor and cry, asking why everything I try to do never goes right or isn't good enough? I smoke weed because when I get my brain going in a horrible thought process it's the only thing that breaks the cycle for a bit. My dad wants me to quit smoking because he thinks it's going to help. But I didn't smoke the day I almost cut myself and I didn't smoke today either, and I was getting ready to cut myself but I went for a walk in the freezing cold dark instead. My mom always asks me if I'm okay, but she doesn't believe me that I want to kill myself. No one takes it seriously until it happens.

My "best" and one of my only friends told me to "grow the f**k up" the other day. That really did not sit well with me.

I f*****g hate that. My (only) friend likes to tell me that I'll "grow out" of my troubles. He also thinks that ASD is a "personality type" and isn't real, AND that he definitely has ASD while also thinking that "age doesn't matter that much" in whether or not someone has an ASD. Yeah, it's not like it's called a "pervasive developmental disorder" or anything, or that "pervasive developmental disorder" means it has been pervasive throughout one's development.