How do i know if i am really depressed?!

How do i know if i am really depressed?

i think i have been depressed for about 7 months. i had lost 3 friends. they sort of ditched me and said a lot about me and my family. i was very alone. it may not seem like much, but i was devestated. since then, i have had many ups and downs. other things have happened, like i found out one of my good friends had a serious disease and she coughs up blood. thing shave been hard to deal with. my family life has been hard also. life has been so hard and i have cut myself before. i never want to again, but i always get the urge. i want to crawl in a dark hole and never have to talk or do anything. then somedays, i feel on top of the world and like everything is finally going to work out. the change of emotions can last hours or weeks. i have tried therapy before, but it only made things worse. how do i know if i am depressed or if something else is wrong. i am a minor, so keep that in mind.

wow, I am kind of glad I found this question. I feel pretty much the exact same way you do. I don't really have too much advice, SORRY! but I thought that maybe if you wanted to talk about it or something, my e-mail is mattsp_89@yahoo.com
Actually, I do have some advice. when u feel the urge to cut yourself, try writing down all your feelings on paper. That seems to help me an awful lot. I have pages of things that just pop out of my mind when I feel that way, and then when I am done, the urge is gone. I feel really bad about what your going through, and I don't know if it is depression either. But I know about going through really crappy times and how hard it is. so seriously, if u ever need to talk to someone, email me.