Since I'm young, I often hide my feelings because I believe that since I am still a student, that I will be thought of as an "attention seeker". Because of this belief, I don't like to share to people when I don't have a good enough excuse for being sad.
For instance, if someone was mean to me or I had an bad day at school, I think of those as "good" reasons to feel bad, and in response, I might ask friends for support or I'll spend some money on something that brings me happiness.
But if I'm feeling bad for reasons I think aren't "good," such as being jealous of someone or completely randomly, then I don't feel like I have the "right" to ask for support. I don't feel like it would be justified to take time off of my responsibilities to do something pleasant to improve my mood. So I just sit there and suffer through it.
When I talk to adults in my life about this, they throw the "puberty makes your brain crazy" thing at me. Depression in puberty is more similar to depression in adulthood than you might think. You notice that there is not a lot which can make you happy, you feel tired for extended periods of time, you cry a lot, you think about everything which you have done wrong or everything that has gone wrong, you no longer see a future. Depression in puberty occurs more often than many people would think.
Too many teenagers also commit suicide these days, often as a result of a depression or a situation which has overwhelmed the person. Depression can show itself differently in teenagers than it does in adults. For instance, boys with depression will often start to showcase behavioral issues. They no longer behave properly and they easily insult people.
Girls, on the other hand, will show more symptoms of depression as found in adults. They become quiet, can sit for hours without saying anything, feel somber, cry a lot. In girls, depression also often affects their body. There are many girls who have issues with migraine caused by depression, for example.
It is often that adults overlook their child's feelings and chalk it up to be because of puberty. In a way, that is true. But in many other ways, it is not. One of the hard truths is that hormones really do change the way you think. That can make it harder to stop anxiety because you're always going to feel like your emotions are "normal", even when sometimes they're not.
It's so important to remember that things in life are only as important as you make them. When you get into a fight with your parents or someone says something behind your back in school, it's only important if you let it be important. By changing the way we think about something, we can change the way that we feel.
One thing you should definitely do is make sure you're exercising. Exercising releases chemicals in your brain that make your mood better. This can also improve your confidence and self-esteem. It's especially important nowadays when many kids spend too much time sitting in front of their computer or TV.
Don't be afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid of getting shut down because you're "just a kid". Asking for help is one of the most important things you can do when you have anxiety. Trying to deal with it all on your own is very hard, especially when you're young, so asking for help and telling people how you feel - especially people you can trust - is one of the best ways to cope.
