I’m pretty sure I’m depressed :(

I am sorry about everything you are going through. My teenager had a bad concussion over the winter. At every doctor's appointment they said the best thing for her was to get out and walk. Try to get yourself out several times today. Hopefully some fresh air, mild exercise and enjoying the spring weather will help your mood a little.

I’m sorry. Question: how long have you been working there? Just since this year, or longer? From your OP, it sounds like this is a new job.

ETA: If you ARE new, give it time. I got a new building this year, and teachers are just starting to really collaborate. But shame on them for not checking on you.👎🏻
You DO have us, though. 👍🏻😊

I think it would be strange if you were NOT a bit depressed after the last month you have had.

I would not read too much into your team and other coworkers behavior. You are still new. I think it would have been nice if they had reached out to you, but they really don't know you, yet.

I hope you take it really slow after your very serious injury. Vent away!

I am really sorry that you have been through so much and I understand that you are feeling depressed. But please be good to yourself. If you need more time, contact your doctor on Monday. And if you need to take something for the depression, please let your doctor give it to you and take it until you feel okay. 

I can’t believe that they expect you to work when you are out on medical. Did you volunteer to do it? 
As far as no one getting in touch with you; are there laws where you live that your employer is not allowed to contact you while out on leave? I know when I was out for medical reasons, no one from the company contacted me because of that law. It did make me depressed and worried about my job. But they were happy and shared the joy of me coming back to work when they saw me walk back in. And I had a ton of work to welcome me back.

I agree!

Tell me more about your job. IIRC, you are a school psychologist? Or am I thinking of someone else? Who’s on your team? The SPED teachers?

I am so sorry. You have had to deal with a mother load of crap lately. Be gentle with yourself. Do you have some close non-work friends you can lean on right now? Assuming you are on a traditional school year calendar, then end is in sight right!? Sounds like a break from it all would do you good.

Sorry things are going to bad for you. People with migraines also have higher incident of other things like depression and given your concussion and losing your Papa it's no wonder you're feeling down. If it does get bad enough or goes on long enough you go to the doctor for it be careful of going on SSRIs with migraines. I was just listening to a talk on the Migraine World Summit and the doctor said that SNRIs are a better option. Just something to discuss with your doctor.

I don't have any advice on the work situation, but I wanted to say that I'm sorry you're going through all of this and offer you some virtual hugs. I hope things start turning around for you very soon.

I agree with this 100%.  I’ve been really worried about you and thinking about you throughout the day ever since your concussion.  I haven’t said much on your threads though, because I am very concerned that you have suffered more brain trauma than you are aware of.  

If it was almost anyone but you, I’d think that French teenagers hacked your account - that is how consistently *unlike* the Dani we’ve gotten to know throughout the years you sound in your posts since it happened.  But you have been sounding like someone with a knock to her frontal lobes. 

I really agree with Z*G that you need to heal first and worry about work later. I’m going to be a complete b*tch, but I swear it is coming from a place of caring:  you need to get off of electronics.  You never took the complete 2-week break you needed and have been on almost daily since the trauma.  If it were one of your students who had a severe concussion, you never would have been okay with them disregarding no screen time recommendations.  

You have not given your brain a chance to heal, and while you don’t see it, those of us who’ve “known” you online for years do. I wish someone would turn off your internet for a couple of weeks.  And, given how much stress it is causing you, you are not ready to go to work on Monday. If I lived near you, I’d come by, give you a big hug, some matzo ball soup, and take away your electronics.  (((Hugs)))

I have also hesitated to weigh in on your threads because a) I don't want to contribute to your screen time and b) I hope you are getting good advice from qualified medical professionals which outweighs pea advice.

That being said, I agree with everything Elaine said. My son suffered a very serious concussion and had post-concussion syndrome. He missed almost 2 years of school - that is how long it took for his brain to recover from the trauma. Depression and anxiety are VERY REAL symptoms of head injury - in fact sometimes they are the first and best indicators that something is still wrong. Our concussion clinic gives a score sheet for patients to mark every day how their symptoms are and mental health symptoms are a significant portion of potential symptoms listed.

Is your neurologist a concussion specialist? My inexpert opinion is that there is no way you should be returning to work tomorrow. What types of tests have they done to assess your cognitive function and various reflexes? Elaine is right that you don't sound anything like you usually do. Are you able to seek a second opinion? At the very least, please consider taking more time off. If you return before you are ready, the repercussions could be serious both in terms of your recovery and the ability at which you are able to perform your work responsibilities professionally. And in that vein, has your district addressed the situation with the child who injured you in the first place or will you be returning to work with that student tomorrow?

does your insurance cover mental health coverage?? after everything you've been through- heck, even just the concussion- talking to a counselor would probably be very beneficial. I'm sure just the fact that the concussion has changed your strength and stamina has got to be a bit disheartening, and talking to a counselor would help you deal with your limitations until you get back to normal. (plus talking to someone would be helpful for everything else you've been through, as well...)

talking to an impartial third-party who can listen and help you figure out how to handle everything is ALWAYS a good thing!! (((hugs)))



while part of what you feel could be situational, this type of thing is what I used to feel before I was diagnosed with chronic depression-  I didn't want to 'join in' or 'interact' because I felt like people were judging me, talking about me, etc. even though there was really no reason for them to be doing so.  That, coupled with the newness of a new department and new job responsibilities (for me) made it really tough to feel like I was fitting in.  I really think talking to a counselor would be a good idea.   Once I started talking to a counselor and started taking anti-depressants (based on the judgement of the counselor and a psychiatrist), things did a 180 as far as my outlook on life, wanting to socialize, just having a much more positive outlook in general. 

Some of the things that have happened to you lately could cause depression on their own; but I agree with previous posters that this is absolutely due to your head injury first. Please speak to your doctor about this. I hope you can recover quickly. Hugs.