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Counselors love a client who is honest like you want to be.

Drug use is common among college age students. Counselors are used to it. They hear it all the time. It's usually just a symptom of deeper problems, and it's the deeper problems that counselors want to uncover and treat. People use drugs to escape, because they are sad, or something about life is overwhelming.

(The good news is drug use qualifies you for all the support that people need to heal the underlying issues so they can feel better and no longer feel the need to use drugs.)

Your parents are stressed? Well there's a trigger right there! Emotions are contagious. Their stress can spill over onto you.

Stress can trigger all sorts of body problems. Stress also triggers relapse. Much of treatment is about learning ways to mitigate stress. Need to reduce causes of stress, and have frequent periods of stress-free relaxation.

To mention thoughts of suicide, just always add that you have no intention of actually doing it right now. Thoughts of suicide are common and usually transitory in nature, meaning they come and go. As long as the counselor understands the whole truth, that you have no intention of actually doing it, then you're fine.

He may give you some phone numbers to call in case it gets worse. It's good to have options set up, such as people you can call who can help avert a crisis just by being someone you can talk to. Often just talking to someone for a while can get me through a rough moment.

Counselors know people won't come and talk with them if they don't keep things confidential, so they tend to be adamant about maintaining confidentiality. They don't report drug use because that would be detrimental to the whole process of helping the people they are there to help. Same with thoughts of suicide. Thoughts are fine; actions are not. As long as they are just thoughts it's good to know about them as they indicate something is wrong that needs fixing. Just clarify that you have no intention. Heck that's why you're at the counselor! Because you'd rather not and wish to find an alternative solution to this problem. A counselor is going to love having you as a client because you are so open and honest and you understand yourself so well and understand there's a problem and just need some guidance on how to go about fixing this. (One thing that helps is talking about it, get it out in the open, so just explaining to a counselor the problem is half the cure right there!)

One treatment is to join other people who will understand and accept you as you are because they've been there themselves. People who have recovered from similar problems are the best as they understand in a way no one else can. This is what support groups are for. Just being in the presence of other people who you know completely understand and accept you helps relax the emotional part of the brain.

Having social anxiety certainly doesn't help. Possibly a support group might be overwhelming. Or it might be fantastic! Really depends on the size of the group, how structured it is, and who the other people are.

Another treatment for anxiety is mindfulness meditation, qi-gong, tai-chi, yoga. These techniques attempt to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Another way I just learned of is when we activate the parasympathetic nervous system we increase blood flow to our limbs, such as our hands, and our hands warm up slightly. So another way to learn how to activate your parasympathetic nervous system is to attach a biofeedback thermometer to your finger and then concentrate on warming your hands by using your mind. The biofeedback tells you when you succeed. I was told these devices are available at amazon.com for $30.

Long term repeated activation of the body's parasympathetic nervous system can lead to a true lessening of anxiety. The brain heals itself, strengthens itself, and anxiety literally decreases, making these mind exercises worth the effort. (Plus they are relaxing so it ends up being it's own reward.)

Thinking about self-harm? Have you tried any antidepressant medication? It really worked great for me once I found the right one for me. It sounded like a stupid idea when it was first suggested to me, but the doctor talked me into trying it, and now I think it's great because I feel so much more "normal" (whatever that is, it's like trying to describe what it's like to not have the flu to someone who's been sick their whole life. It feels much better!)

Most important thing I learned the hard way is I don't ruminate on thoughts of "impending doom" no matter how real they may be, because I learned that will just make me sick and then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. So I refuse to allow myself to be stressed over life and how my life might be ruined, because I know that will ruin my life. (See how that's sort of circular? I refuse to enter that spiral.)

(I suspect your friends actually do want to hang out with you, and the thought that they don't want to is likely just a thought you have. People like helping other people in need. It's built into our DNA to be that way. As long as the other person says, "Thank you for helping me," that's candy to their ears. It's like, "Man that feels good! I just helped someone!")

Best wishes. Sounds like you're already on the path toward healing. (Counselors love helping people heal. It's why they chose this business.)