Hi there,
Its common for people to experience depression or anxiety at some point in their life. It can be a tough thing to talk about, so some thoughtful people created a website called Doc Ready to help.
Doc Ready helps you to plan what youd like to say by making a check-list. This means that even if youre nervous on the day, you wont forget to say whats important to you. Also if you think you might find it too scary to talk, you can print of your check-list and give it to the doctor. We also asked Dr. Ranj some questions about what it's like to visit a doctor - you can read what he said here.
It might be that the doctor prescribes you medication, but perhaps there are other options for treatment that they can explore with you too.
It sounds like youre really worried that a doctor would judge you because of how youre feeling and the fact that youre a mum. But having depression doesnt make someone a bad mum. Getting support when you need it is a really good way to help yourself be the best mum that you can be. Its also a really good way to show your little boy that even big people need help sometimes, and that mental health is just as important as physical health. These are really great things that you can teach him.
If youd like to talk through this with a counsellor at ChildLine, you could get in touch by email, online chat or phone. The counselling team dont judge and are there to help and support you no matter whats going on in your life.
You might find that there are other young people using the ChildLine message boards who have experience of talking to their doctor for the first time, or perhaps being a parent having a tough time. You could check that out too if you wanted to.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do next,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.
