Death Records Now

To start off, I am an 18 year old male, I have a very supportive family and a girlfriend who loves me. For the last 3 years of my life, I have been depressed, going through many ups and downs. I never feel happy anymore or feel like smiling. I am always so bored, tired, and stuck inside my own head. I always have so many negative thoughts running through my head, which just makes me more depressed. My depression started when I was sent off to a tennis academy in my 10th grade year. I was home schooled from 7th grade to 10th grade because of tennis competitions and training. After spending a year at the tennis academy, I was burnt out from tennis. I had spent practically my entire child hood playing tennis 24/7 (practice all week and tournaments on the weekends). I then went back to live at home and attend my local high school. Through school I met a few friends that got me into drinking and drugs and from the first time I got drunk, high, and the first time I had a cigarette I was hooked immediately. My 11th grade year consisted of getting hammered almost every weekend and even on school nights and smoking weed almost everyday. I just loved the feeling of not feeling if you understand. I basically went from being top 100 in the nation in my age group for tennis to barely playing. The same thing continued through my senior year, just smoking more and getting messed up, ditching school, not doing homework etc. I have been in three long-term relationships that have really messed with my emotions and make it really hard for me to open up to anyone. I was cheated on once and the other one was a spoiled private school brat who messed with my emotions. I’ve been dating my girlfriend for about 9 months now and I am leaving for college in 2 weeks causing me to feel stressed about how things are going to work out with her. I don’t know what to do because we are so close with each other. I know for a fact that things aren’t going to work out while I’m at college considering I live in California and I am going to Drexel University in Pennsylvania. Each day I live I feel like it’s the same old thing. I feel worthless and depressed about what I did to myself. My parents spent hundrends of thousands of dollars on tennis for me and I messed it all up. Luckily enough I got a scholarship for tennis to Drexel just because of my playing record. I am very nervous about college and how I will fit in. I feel that I am a very bland person with no personality. I never seem to be interesting to anybody. I always have bad thoughts that pop into my head, whether it be death or point of life. I’ve had thoughts about suicide but I could never do it. I am at a point in my life where I don’t know where to go or what path to take. I used to have a lot of friends and hobbies now I only have friends who smoke and drink all the time and wouldn’t be my friend if I didn’t. I wish there was something that coiuld just resolve what I am feeling and make me feel happy again. I know I kind of rambled a lot but if anybody has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.
i have taken anti depressants and i have add and i used to take meds for it. I had a psychologist but didnt seem to help. I never have any energy as well.

Hi from France

Go see a Psychoanalyst ( not a simple psychologist, nor a psychiatrist), by letting to talk you like you want to, he / her will help you to find WHY you have this depression. Then it could be treated.
Don’t think Psychoanalysts are expensive, most adapt their prices in accordance with the income of people.

Have a great day,

Cat.

live in Canada, and among the aspect of the United States that I find very silly, there’s the 21-year-old drinking age and the ridiculous penalties for underage drinking. This is greatly undermining the opinion I have of the US.

In Canada, the drinking age is 19 in seven provinces and 18 in three. If someone is caught underage drinking, they are either handed a small fine or arrested and detained until the effect of alcohol is over, that’s all. Underage drinkers don’t lose their driver’s license and don’t get a criminal record that would haunt them for the rest of their life. Additionally, enforcement is much less strict, and police often don’t really care about underage drinking on private property.

I think that American policy of giving a criminal record to underage drinkers is unfair and exaggerated, as a criminal record permanently jeopardizes employment and emigration, and will get a person barred from entering Canada for 5 years. You want to visit Toronto, but four years ago you were caught drinking at the age of 20? Impossible, you’ll get arrested and deported at the border. The punishment doesn’t fit the "crime" at all.

In the state of New Mexico, it’s a FELONY to give alcohol to someone under 21, but only a MISDEMEANOR to drive drunk, even on the third offense. Any reasons for that?

Underage drinking and drunk driving are two entirely different things. I take drunk driving very seriously and I even think aggravated drunk driving (over .12) should be a felony.

Canada has a lower rate of car crashes and deaths and far less problems with alcohol use by young people.

What justifications do you Americans have for these criminal penalties for such a trivial "offense" as consuming alcohol under 21?
Just a little side note: unless you live in the state of Mississippi, people in the 18-20 age group are NOT "minors". The age of majority is 18 (19 for Alabama and Nebraska). You have to say "person under 21", "underage drinker" or "underager" as these people are NOT minors.
Sure Texas is one of the most lenient states relatively to under-21 drinking, I knew that alreay. However, Texas and Ohio are the only big states to allow parents to give alcohol to their children. In 20 states, including most of the large ones (California, New York, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona, North Carolina) it’s a criminal offense for a parent to serve any amount of alcohol to their children. Another oddity is in South Dakota, South Carolina and West Virginia, parents may serve alcohol to their children, but it’s still a criminal offense or the under-21 person to drink it.

My point is that any underage drinking related offense that does not involve driving should only be punished by civil penalties, not criminal ones.

I live in the US and completely agree with you. Raising the drinking age from 18 to 21 has had so many adverse effects on young adults drinking. This is because our politicians generally do not do what is good for the country anymore, they just do things that make them look good for the public. There is no justification for giving criminal penalties to a minor who went to a party and had a few drinks. We all have made mistakes as teenagers. However, I give them some credit because they have lightened up a little on the marijuana possession laws. Don’t get me wrong, I love this country, but things have been going crazy lately.