Welcome to Gaia! ::

I want to let you know, your not the only one in this world, you shouldn't feel alone. Your family is there for you, right? And as for people to talk to, you will find plenty. I was the same way, thought I'd never have anyone to talk to or hang out with, but I do. When you want to talk to someone, make sure they are talking about a particular topic you can also get involved in(Hopefully they don't do the A and B conversation thing though)I'm in a similar situation as you, but its opposite. The more I'm invisible to people, the easier things are for me. I'm more of a private, quite kind of guy.

I'm sorry to hear you're not enjoying college. *hug* I loved college and the contrast between post-secondary and high school just blew my mind.

First and foremost, look on campus for counsellors you can talk to. There should be staff available on campus who can help you with your feelings and help you cope. If you're pretty sure you're depressed, you can also talk to a doctor and ask for a prescription for an anti-depressant. As Lorien said, there's medication available for people who are depressed, and many people find that it does indeed help.

One downside to college and many post-secondary institutions is just that - it's not like high school anymore. Most students are adults, there's more people, more independence, and that can take some adjusting to. The onus can be more on you to reach out to people instead of waiting for them to come up to you.

But that's where the fun comes in! There should be places you can go on campus where you can meet new people, school events and functions, etc.

When I first moved with my now-ex over 2 years ago, it was because he got accepted to the local university. I missed the application deadline so I was to work while he was in school... so we broke up, and he eventually moved out. He was a pretty anti-social person before starting university, but attending school really helped him meet new people and open up a bit.

I on the other hand was miserable because I was working all the time and not really meeting people around time. I was lonely and depressed after the break-up, and didn't know where to go to meet new people aside from the mall where I worked.

And then I started university. I am a shy and generally a quiet person, and so I don't approach other people. But eventually I started talking to this one girl in one of my classes, and we started talking to another girl, and the 3 of us became friends. When the first girl dropped out, the other girl and I kept talking through the school year.

Another big step for me was to walk into the women's center on campus and meet some of the young women who hung out in that space. They welcomed me and invited me to events they were holding, and events being held on campus, and I met lots of people. biggrin Our campus has a pub and I started going to the pub for some evening events. I even did karaoke one night with a girl, and I hate karaoke because I'm so shy!

My point is, while it might be intimating to be on a new campus with so many people, doing something out of character or outside of your norm might be beneficial. It will probably seem scary, and you might be uncomfortable, but if you start meeting new people then it may pay off with the end result of more friends.

If you are depressed to the point of being suicidal, I urge you to call a crisis line or an emergency line and get some help until you can find someone (a professional) to talk to. If you're not sure where to look, let me know and I can try to help you find some hotlines or websites that you can use.