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What are these feelings?

There are many kinds of feelings including poor self-esteem, stress, anxiety, loneliness, grief, and anger that can sometimes lead to depression. Sometimes these feelings even lead to thoughts of suicide. If you are experiencing any of these feelings, this is the place to talk to someone who can help.

Share your feelings in the Nineline Forum.

Poor self-esteem (feeling worthless, unloved, and unaccomplished) These feelings may cause you to be shy, withdrawn and lacking in confidence. It may affect your friendships, school achievement, after-school activities, and/or family life. You may feel this way because you or your parents have overly high expectations for you - either socially or at school. Or, you may feel this way because you are living in a family that is experiencing certain problems, e.g., where there is alcohol, drugs, mental illness, domestic violence, etc…Seek out counseling. Talk to friends and relatives, who are able to listen, about your feelings. Seek out activities you're good at to boost your self-esteem. Cultivate a hopeful, optimistic view of your life - believe that you are a good person.

Stress can act like an alarm in an emergency - motivating you to act quickly to resolve the problem. But more often, stress is triggered by feelings like anxiety, worry and fear - immobilizing you and making it impossible for you to make progress towards resolving problems. It is important to recognize what is causing the stress in your life to build up (such as pressure to achieve, fear of failure or success, fears about war and terrorism, etc.) before it overwhelms you or leads to depression.

Anxiety is a common feeling caused by fearing or worrying about things in every day life. Sometimes, anxieties are passed down from parent to child - an anxious and fearful parent, for example, can create fear and anxiety in a child. These thoughts might lead to physical symptoms like a pounding heart, heavy breathing or perspiration - even dizziness or a stomachache. As difficult as it is, admitting your anxieties and talking about them (such as "I'm anxious about telling my Mom her drinking bothers me") will help you overcome them.

Loneliness is a painful feeling for teenagers often caused by the rejection of friends who you are looking to for approval and acceptance. You might also experience loneliness as you mature and separate from your parents even though you enjoy your new independence. It's important to remember that loneliness is usually a temporary feeling as well as an opportunity to get to know yourself and set goals for your future. Some people enjoy being alone; others do not. You probably already know which category you fall into -- try to discover why.

Grief is a totally natural response to being separated from someone or something you feel attached to. You may feel grief over the death of a family friend, the breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend, the loss of an important activity (like a spot on the soccer team) or anything else important to you. Remember that grief is a stage people go through to cope with a loss (just like crying when you break a bone) but if you find yourself in a constant state of grief you should reach out for help.

Anger can be a normal, natural even healthy feeling or - in the case of someone quick-tempered - a chronic problem. Constant feelings of anger can leave you feeling impulsive, isolated and unsatisfied. It is better to recognize and talk about your feelings of anger than to keep them bottled up until you explode- lashing out at others verbally or physically. Again, seek help if controlling your anger is a constant problem.

Depression - a continually hopeless state of mind - can be brought on by any of the feelings above. And depression itself can lead you to feelings of suicide. It is important to take some time to figure out just what you're feeling and why you're feeling that way before it gets worse. Seek professional counseling if necessary. Call Nineline if you need a referral to a counseling program or mental health clinic.

Thoughts of suicide can sometimes be triggered by the feelings above, especially if you're feeling depressed. But there are much better options to solving your problems than killing yourself. And help is just a phone call away.