Dear Amy: A few months ago, I lost two very close relatives.
After their deaths, which were only about a week apart, I felt depressed for weeks.
I understood this was part of the natural grieving process and tried to deal with it myself. I didn't think it was that important.
It has been more than four months and I still don't feel like I used to.
Recently, I have been extremely emotional.
I feel like crying for no reason, and I go off at the drop of a hat.
My parents have noticed my bouts of rage, and they believe it's teenage angst.
I believe I started to feel like this even before their deaths.
I don't know how to tell my parents because I don't want them to feel like they don't provide enough for me or that I'm ungrateful.
They give me everything I want. I'm sure if I asked them to give me the shirts off their backs, they would.
I don't want to go to my school counselor because they call you down while you're in class, and I don't want everyone to know that I need help.
What should I do?
-- Troubled teen
Dear Troubled: You should start by remembering how much your parents love you.
You sound like such a good kid; please let them try to help you.
They deserve the chance to try, because right now, helping you is their version of giving you the shirt off their backs.
Tell them, "I think I'm depressed. I feel terrible, and I can't shake it off. I need help." (The "I need help" part is important.)
Explain your concerns about the school counselor (and I agree with you that pulling a kid out of class is not a sensitive approach); your folks can make an appointment and get a referral for someone for you to talk to.
Dear Amy: "Stuck" wrote to you that she wants to live with her best girlfriend, but now her boyfriend wants to move in too.
Her girlfriend would certainly regret living with them.
I lived with a couple for six months before I'd had enough of it and had to get out.
Being the third wheel is especially bad when (not if) the couple is fighting or things are tense in their relationship, as you end up hearing two sides of a story and things just get bad.
-- Arlen
Dear Arlen: I agree that in most circumstances, it is extremely challenging for a single person to live with a couple.
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