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Hi there,
It can be really hard when life is a struggle and youve been depressed for a long time. Its really good that youve decided to speak to your doctor about what youre going through. They can let you know what support and treatment is available for you. Sometimes it can feel very difficult to share how you feel. If youre feeling nervous at your appointment, important things you wanted to say can suddenly slip your mind.
It can help to write down everything youd like to say and any questions youd like to ask your doctor so that you get the most from your appointment. Theres actually a really useful website to help with this called DocReady which lets you build a checklist of everything you want to say. Perhaps you could take a look at it.
As you are 17, a doctor can usually offer you full patient confidentiality. If youre worried about this, how about asking your doctor about confidentiality levels before speaking to him or her? That way, you know where you stand and can choose which things you want to share.
Youve done well to start speaking about this and I hope that you get the help you need. Please remember that Childline counsellors can be part of your support too and you can speak to them any time.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
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