Can pressure to fit in cause depression?

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When I was 15 and a freshman in high school I used to be happy. I used to not care what other people think of me. But as the months went by I felt a lot of pressure to fit in with my friends. All my friends were watching mature shows like Family Guy and Grey's Anatomy while I was still watching Nickelodeon shows (I still watch them to this day). My friends were all listening to the latest pop and rap music, but I like 80s music. Plus, I tried to dress in the most stylish clothes, but it's hard to find cute clothes when you're overweight like me. I couldn't (and still can't) shop at stores like Aeropostale or Hollister because their sizes are too small.

I started feeling unhappy when I was 16, but I continued to try to confirm to the status quo. I became depressed and angry and started lashing out at people. I would have frequest outbursts in school. One was so severe that when I was 17 I had to switch schools. I had to stay back a year because I had problems doing my work because I was so stressed.

When I was 19 and a senior, I wanted to fit in so badly I would to ANYTHING to get this group of popular girls' attention, even if it meant acting like a maniac and ignoring the friends who REALLY cared about me--not phonies.

At many times I have felt suicidal--I actually wanted to kill myself, but I haven't done it because I knew my family would be devastated.

I think all this trying to be like everyone else caused my depression. I'm 21 now and still in a very bad position right now. I don't know if I'll ever get out of it. I often wish I was 15 again and carefree.

The same thing happened to me when I was 15. I liked all the hippie groups of the late 60s and The Monkees as well. I was 15 at a time when bell bottoms were frowned upon and when I found that you can't really wear whatever you want to high school like my sister said that you could, two years earlier, I've started wearing tapered jeans so that I wouldn't be told to tight roll my jeans. People were telling me to listen to Top 40, but I refused due to the fact that it would have made me even more miserable than I already was. It got to the point that I didn't care anymore and I became a hippie, at the age of 17.

I think the key is to realize that the people who are really worth attraction are the ones that actually care, they are most likely to be the most sustainable relationships. The cool people who just use each other to go out clubbing with don't really have any mutual interest or connection that holds them together other than materialism, clubbing and social status. It's more about the quality of the friends you have, not the quantity.