If you think you’re depressed, it can be helpful to talk to a friend, but it’s also very important to talk with a parent or an adult with whom you feel comfortable. If you don’t feel comfortable telling an adult that you are depressed on your own, you might ask a friend to be with you when you talk with someone, or help you find someone trustworthy.
Adults you might feel comfortable talking to about being depressed:
- Parent, guardian, or other adult relative
- Doctor or health care provider
- Teacher or coach
- Guidance counselor
- Minister, priest, rabbi, or other clergy person
Any of these adults should be able to help you begin treatment with someone who works with depressed teens. If you tell one of these people and they are not able to get you help, tell someone else.
For more information, see our Depression Health Guide.
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.