I can’t study. I sleep all day. Nothing excites me.

Sometimes the best advice we can give, says our elder, is where to turn for help.

Dear EWC:

Hello! I am 16 years old, and the thing is, I am going through a weird phase. I think a lot. Most of my time is spent daydreaming. I am not serious about my studies. Nothing excites me. I am not determined anymore. I am in my final year of school and it is really very important to get good grades. And also I want to make my parents feel proud of me . So I wanna score good.

They say you can score exceptionally well only when you are sincerely studying the whole year. I still don’t feel like studying. I can’t make myself sit and read even a paragraph. Though I try to force myself, sometimes I give up and sleep. I sleep a lot during the day and stay awake at night. I have tried all the ways to study, made all types of plans, have searched for purpose, but to no use. I am not progressing. I feel repelled by books.
It’s not like I don’t want to study. But two years back something happened in my family due to which I went into a depression. I will be able to tell more and then get advice if you are willing to listen to me. I have lots of things to say.

Global-Advice replies:

This is a serious problem. When you have something like your family on your mind, it is almost impossible to concentrate on your studies. This can happen to any of us.

My name is GeorgeK and I am an elder with EWC. Elders are people with many years of life experience and we attempt to provide you with practical and useful advice. However, we are not medical professionals or psychologists. And it appears that you might well need professional counseling. We cannot talk directly to you; we only communicate (like this) online.
Many schools do have counselors who can meet you face-to-face and listen to your issues. It looks like your family issues are keeping you from reaching your potential as a student. It may be that when you speak of this to a trained counselor that you can remove that blockage and become the good student that you were and can still be. I would encourage you to quickly find live face-to-face assistance to deal with that depression.

There is no reason to wait. Depression is real. It is serious. It is keeping you from success. You can find a way to keep it from stopping you. But you may not be able to do it by yourself. You know that. So, do not wait.

I know you can do it. Best of luck.

Letter #: 433192
Category: Other