How can I be more confident and comfortable with myself?

I used to have severe depression, to the point of attempted suicide, and the only reason I'm alive today is because of a kid I met a few years ago. He was a horrible influence but he was always happy and he was good at reading people and he could see that I was depressed, even though I smiled. Well he broke into my house one day at midnight and walked into me carving into my shoulders, because I didn't want people to see the scars. I left my house for about a day and a half because he hot wired a car and basically kidnapped me. He managed to give me some ways to have fun, like lock picking, and to relieve stress, like hiking through the woods at night.

The point of that was that if you find something you enjoy then it helps. Get one very good friend and go on from there. Also never begin causing yourself or others harm, it is a slippery slope and while I have completely escaped depression if I encounter any stress my first reaction is to grab a knife or punch somebody.

Meds and therapy didn't work for me either. I spent four years on that crap and all it did was make me so out of it 24/7 that I was constantly getting fired from jobs.

I'm 28 years old in 2 weeks and I live my life like somebody who's fresh out of high school. It's not healthy and I'm just now beginning to change. I've realized that I've wasted the last 10 years of my life and it depresses me.

If meds don't work for you, then what you really need is structure in your life. You need friends who understand you and are willing to be there for you, but at the same time don't cater to you. You need a stable job that pays enough money for you to become financially independent, and if you need to go to college to do that, do it. It's something that's going to have to happen eventually anyway and the longer you wait the harder it'll be.

Avoid relationships. The drama they bring will only make things worse as someone like you will take one bad moment and magnify it so that it takes 10 good moments to make up for it.

Just do your best to become financially independent, make sure that what needs to be done always is (such as paying bills), stay away from romantic relationships while building up a strong base of friends you can trust, and beyond that, live life carefree.

I used to be extremely depressed but, I think depression is a matter of perception. When I was depressed, I noticed that it happened when I didn't do anything. I would sit around and think about all that is wrong with the world. I would think about how my life is worthless and at times, I even started to think of whether or not my life was worth living.

Then, I started socializing more and more and got really involved with my school work. As I started paying attention to those things I felt much more confident with myself and my abilities. And the cool thing is that all of this is a snowball effect. The more you do, the better you feel. As you begin to feel better about yourself, more and more people will take note of that and will want to get to know you better.

"Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone."
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox

No one of us like how his/her life are going but we keep our selves busy and try not to think hard about it ,

please therapy and other kind of stuff wasting you're money and time , try to smile and feel to have fun with the most basic things .that we think its boring but we can have fun while we do it ,

try to do things that you didn't try before , try to go out more often even if you're alone , don't just stay home doing nothing , listen to music ,go to movies ,sports a lot of things you can do with friends or with out just believe in you're self that you can do it and trust me you'll be ok and feeling better .

Therapy? Meds?! Bullshit! Rock Band is all you need =]
Really, if you got a PS3 or a 360 (or any friend), just get it! It's really fun to play and it makes you forget about the things that bond you.

You can always try learning a real instrument. It takes time and dedication, but you can drive your time to that and not to thinking what to do to get rid of depression. Hang out with your friends, go to the movies, listen to happy music and eat well (it does cheer up to eat well every once in a while!)

And the most important of it: take it cool! Just remember that being sad is not worth it at all. Just carry on and smile your way back up again.

I suffer sometimes too. Sometimes when others are laughing and enjoying life, I am wondering "what is wrong with me? Why can't I be happy?" It is almost as though I am mad that they are happy. That is not the best thing to think about. There were a couple of times I felt so depressed, I just wanted to drive off the road. It would be quick and all the pain I felt would go away.

I would just say to keep your friends close, talk to people. If you feel depressed, go out and do something. Listen to music. That always made me feel a little better. Find someone that understands what you are going through. I have told people before how I felt and they just thought I was a nut case. So talk to people you trust not people that will put you down. Not just some random people that may tell the whole world. Laugh a little. Do stupid things. I did that this year, and it was weird and people probably thought I was weird. But doing something without worrying what people think actually feels really good. So what if you are old, eh? But everyone feels bad sometimes, I still do. I am suffering from some from of depress to sometimes. :( I hope you feel better.

I used to be severely depressed to the point of being suicidal between the ages of 14 - 18. Right now its kind of hard to recall exactly because its like a long time ago when I was a whole other person.

I didn't go for therapy or take medication or anything. What did I do? Well I reached the point that you are at now. The point where you are looking for help because you know that you have a problem. I think that is the first step. I talked to some people about it, that is my close friends who I can trust. Apparently I discovered that one of my friends was equally suicidal and we understood each other - I guess it felt better knowing I wasn't alone.
I told my mom but she never understood and changed the topic. Somehow the talking about it does help. Watch out with this because if you complain all the time people will not want to be with you.
I wrote a lot of poetry. I also did a lot of research on the net - and the same theme came up, ' changing your mind set'. In order for things to change you must choose to change yourself. Think Positive - you should start by saying that you will get rid of depression!

Then I went of vacation and met a relative of mine who is wild, free and doesn't take things so seriously like I do. She lives for the moment, things happen good or bad but she always has a smile. To be honest I have never done half of the crazy things that she done and if I did do them I would have hated myself even more. But for her she was fine with everything - she just doesn't care take things too personally. So then I learnt from her that I should try and lighten up and not get all depressed for little things.

Then yes, I am a Christian. I learnt that God always wants you to choose life and that He loves me so much.
I also realised that I must love myself. If I don't love myself then who will (apart from God)? So I tried the whole look at yourself in the mirror thing and tell yourself that you are best every day. Look in the mirror and flatter yourself. The more you say it, the more you convince yourself, the more you like yourself.
Then I promised myself not to hurt myself ever again.

So I had extreme depression.

Anyway, you must remember that its OK to be sad sometimes. Other things could be exercise, nature walks, music (the right type of music can change your mood), watch a comedy, do things you enjoy to do and try out new stuff etc.

I think what really works for me is getting out, going to a new place for some time and then returning. Then I always have Art, I love to draw and it makes me happy. I also realised that there are still lots of things that I have never done before- I'm motivated to do those things.