Newbie looking for outlet

Hello All,
I've been reading posts in this forum and was not sure where I belonged, so I started this thread. The moderators and readers seem to have a lot of compassion and caring and I guess that's what I need (sometimes I need a kick in the bum too!). I've had depression since my teens and I'm north of 50 now. Like many others I have tried going without medication but always end up back at the psych's office. I hate the idea of taking meds but that's another story. I think what I'm looking for is someplace to vent and talk about what's happening and to celebrate things that happen. I have a hard time making friends. I have one friend where I live that I've known over 20 years but she has a daughter and husband, works and is usually very busy. I have a few other friends in another town I lived in and keep in touch with them but it's not the same as having a buddy to do a movies with or dinner. I went back to school this past fall and will be starting the semester in a couple of weeks so maybe I will meet some new friends that way. I don't have children and don't feel like I connect with my family, that we don't have similar interests and if they weren't related I wouldn't be friends with them. OMG, I've never said that before! I do have one shining star, a nephew, who's a toddler. He is the light of my life and his parents are pretty good about letting me spend time with him.

I'm rabbling on and on but I am happy where I am right now with school. I love being a student again...but I feel very lonely especially during the holidays. I'm so glad they are over with. Thanks for listening!

frankie

Frankie,

I can empathize with your feelings about family.

I too went back to school, however health has now put me on the the disability list. So I will soon be taking piano lessons. Always something new to learn.

Have you tried a support group for depression? I recently just joined one. Found it through the net. Meets at a local church.

Medicines do help me, without them I would be committed for sure. but they only do so much, we have to do the rest.

It sounds like you work pretty hard at staying positive. Remember if you need more help talk to your doctor. There are also resources at the top of the depression thread should you ever want to review them. Meditation and mindfulness are key in many peoples lives for stability. www.mindful.org is a good place to start.

Keep posting here, we all care and listen to each other, support is wonderful!

Peace
Trina

I can also understand the comments about lack of friends. It's difficult when others are moving forward or have good careers and you're struggling or at a different point. Good for you for going back to school and continuing on your path. As mentioned, school will open up opportunities to meet people, particularly in clubs like photography, philosophy, languages, or book clubs, whatever your interests are. I have been struggling to meet people also, so I just joined a couple of meetup.com groups to pursue my interests. You might want to try that if the school clubs don't work out. I'll report back on how it goes with the new groups.