LifeLube: Peter, I feel depressed and can’t seem to shake the sense of “who cares anyway?” Any advice?

Monday, November 9, 2009

Peter, I feel depressed and can’t seem to shake the sense of “who cares anyway?” Any advice?

[Peter Pointers is here 4 YOU, as a service to LifeLube readers - whatever question you may have regarding sexual health, physical health, mental/emotional and spiritual health - ask him. He will find the answers you are looking 4. from a team of experts Below is a recent Q&A you may be interested to read.]

Question: There have been some challenges in my life lately, and I have been feeling really down. Even since some of them have been resolved, I still feel depressed and can’t seem to shake the sense of “who cares anyway?” Any advice? I saw a therapist a long time ago – in college – around coming out issues, but didn’t find it all that helpful.

Answer: First of all, thank you for reaching out and sending me an e-mail. I am sorry to hear you’re not feeling so great these days, but I think it’s a very good thing you are willing to share this with someone else.

Importantly, if you are experiencing a desire to hurt yourself or someone else, or feel like you are overwhelmed with these emotions or do not have hope, please call one of the many wonderful resources available to people in a time of need or crisis:

LGBT Crisis Hotline (24 hours)
773.871.CARE
773.871.2273

Hopeline (24 hours)
1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-784-2433

Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK
1-800-273-8255

Even though I don’t have all the information about what you are going through, it sounds like your life is being effected heavily by the way you are feeling. Reaching out to someone for information and support is a very important step to helping yourself cope with what you are going through.

However, I would strongly suggest that you seek out someone that you can speak with personally and with greater detail about what is going on and how it is impacting you. Talking with someone about what you’re going through can be really comforting, and they hopefully can help you get back to feeling good. I’d like to go ahead and give you some referrals of places and people with whom you can talk. Talking with a professional is important to tap into the guidance and expertise that they have.

In Chicago, one good place to start is the Howard Brown Health Center, which provides mental health services specifically tailored for the LGBT community, with counseling and psychotherapy available in the Behavioral Health Services department.
         4525 N. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL, 60613
         773- 388-1600

Another place is the Center on Halsted, Chicago’s community center dedicated to the LGBT community. They offer a variety of mental health services, including counseling, which are available on a sliding scale basis and a number of insurance plans are accepted as well.
        3656 N. Halsted, Chicago, IL, 60613
        773.472.6643

Also, Psychology Today has a searching tool where you can locate therapists near you. This site allows you to read the therapists profiles, which will tell you about their perspectives, specializations, and service fees:

I hope you can find one of these referrals to be of use to you. Again I think that a first good step is to give it another try and speak with someone. Please feel free to contact me with any other questions, or to let me know how things are going for you.