Sounds like the jig is up. Get a job hippie.

Depression is a disease. Being an asshole is a lifestyle choice.

# 51 so you are assuming that everyone's brain works exactly the same so therefore they would experience the depression exactly the same as you...so since you could so easily overcome it...anyone who doesnt just isnt good enough? some diseases like lyme disease and cancer make it so that a person's brain doesnt retain the information for school and also drain too much energy for work. a college simply can not accommodate for this. they have to be able to teach the person - disease or not. op. no matter your illness as the comments anywhere on this site prove - theres people who simply will not understand no matter what you tell them or what a doctor tells them. try to focus on the supportive people. i wish you the best.

what a ****. if it's not too forward to say...

Your aunt's a cranky, jealous, bitter BITCH.

#11 and #33 are idiots. My mom had depression for years, and she didn't want to get help because she thought that would have been giving in or something...if my grandfather hadn't made her get help she would have eventually become suicidal. Depression is a DISEASE.

Wow.. I am appalled by most of the comments on here. Telling OP 'YDI' for not telling you exactly what the disease is? It's really not any of your business. #57 - Really.. then you of all should know that not all disabilities are the same. My mother has been disabled due to illness for 12 years. She hates everyday of yet. Yes, she has a wheelchair, so is able to go places, with assistance. But every time she has tried to go and work, she is lucky to last a week before it has taken a massive toll on her health and then she ends up pretty much being bed bound for at least another week. Then shall I mention that having to rely on public transportation (because not everyone can afford or get assistance with their own personal transportation that would enable them to go on their own) to get to work, means having to stay for long periods in the sun? Which for people sensitive to sunlight, can cause even more problems.

OP- this sucks, try sharing more about your disease/disability with your extended family, so that they can better understand what's going on. Hopefully this is ignorance, not cruelty. (I have not bothered to keep up with the numbers for this next, so my apologies to anyone who has not been being rude, or has already said any of the following!) Depression is a registered mental illness, which, in some cases, relates to brain chemistry. Depression MAY go away on its own, but clinical depression, characterized by feelings of worthlessness/hopelessness, thoughts or attempts of suicide, and/or physical symptoms such as pain and extreme fatigue, should always be treated by a registered psychotherapist or psychiatrist. Depression can last, off and on, for years, so the prospect of having some level of clinical depression for 13 years is actually possible without faking. Should any of you doubt the veracity of depression as a mental illness, or especially if you think you might have depression, go speak to any therapist or couselor, who can give you more detailed information.

yeah what disease...?

#46 How about "no"? A disability is having broken both your legs and being unable to get out of bed. Depression is feeling like you don't want to get out of bed. One is a disability, one is someone needing to grow up.