Former dysthymic, agoraphobic, socially anxious guy here,

The trick to overcome the social anxiety issue is to see yourself as a different person, for who you really are in the ultimate scheme of things. The problem with being undocumented and feeling that you actually belong here is that although you may have grown up here you don't really belong here because you don't have all the liberties as everyone who has a residence card. You are trying to live a life that does not match your freedoms and therefore you can't think that way, you are going against the grain here.

As an illegal alien there are not many guarantees for you, you never know if you are going to get pulled over and deported, if your place of work is going to get raided, if you are going to have enough economical support to finish your degree, if you are going to be able to get that scholarship or loan, if you are going to get injured and not have life insurance, if the DREAMact or an immigration reform will pass soon, etc, NO GUARANTEES.

Seeing that there are more cons than pros to maintaining that peace of mind while in this situation, your only option is to behave like someone who's just fresh out of the boat or the Rio Grande. You are here to complete a sole mission and this mission requires your utmost attention and discipline since you never know if you'll be here tomorrow just like people send money back home until the can no longer do so: to work your ass off for whatever purpose (get a degree, open a business back home, etc.), to marry a USC, to find a trade that actually pays well so you can remain in the country and try to live as normally as possible until a bill passes.

My advice is analogous to the adage of living as if today was your last day alive. You need to take "risks" in order to prevent stagnation, depression can go on forever until you finally manage to rationalize your situation and discard the unhelpful thoughts. What seems to be a risk for you under your current mental state is nothing more than a chance for a normal person to grab some opportunity and even normal people often quit. You have to put things in perspective if you want to maintain your sanity--you are undocumented and have different needs but so does everyone else. Have you ever stopped to think how other undocumented individuals manage to attend their two jobs every day? They know they could get deported anytime too and this is part of their motivation, to make the most money in as little time as possible so they can improve their lives back home. You need to establish similar goals, to work toward something that can provide future opportunities for you, eg. work, go to school, graduate and save money, and see where you go from there, marry someone, move to your natal country and work to get experience so you can move elsewhere--you can even risk crossing back in many different ways if you really need to be here.

There's so much you can achieve as an illegal immigrant in this country, it's just that you have to go against the flow of things because the system has been set up to benefit those with the legal rights. It's important for you to remember that the American system in general rewards courageous individuals regardless of their situation simply because there's so much help and many opportunities for people of every situation. It doesn't matter what you are, as long as you are persistent you can make it in this system, persistent illegal immigrant, persistent worker, persistent student, you have seen and heard the success stories.

You may feel bad because your ambitions seem unreachable, because you know you are breaking some rules even if these aren't hurting anyone, because everyone seems to be moving forward when you are stuck, because you are stuck in a job doing work bellow your skill level, whatever your excuse you need to remember that all of this is taking place in your head, these are thoughts that produce negative feelings which simply become so out of control that lead to anxiety and depression.

Remember that this is a dog-eat-dog world, your parents can only do so much for you but after a certain point you are all alone in your struggle because it truly is completely personal, you need to look out for yourself and realize that everyone else is doing the same. You are the one who has been been making all the important choices all along and you are where you are because you have wanted it that way, it sounds harsh and it sucks but it takes some form of maturation to see things objectively. Ten years from now you'll look back at your situation and just laugh about how complicated you were making things, after all these are situations created by humans, problems that can be circumvented or solved in many different ways.

Psychologists won't help you find your way out of this conundrum, they'll tell you that you have self-defeating thoughts because you ideals don't match your living situation but that's as far as it can go. These people can't understand the situation you are in, my high school counselors didn't, my college counselors didn't, my parents didn't, people who aren't in our situation can't really put themselves in our places. Pills can't help you either (unless you actually have a genetic chemical imbalance) because if your condition stems from your frustration for not being able to control your situation, you won't be able to get back on your feet until you develop the right coping mechanism. In this case you need to become aware of your limitations, opportunities, your mental and physical abilities, and you also need to filter out the self-defeating thoughts that prevent you from taking control of your life. Any self-help book on emotional intelligence will help you greatly immensely with the negativity and will work both ways with your social anxiety and depression.

There will always be haters, people will criticize your taste in music, your hobbies, your favorite movies, your career, your migratory status and that's really as far as it goes in terms of how they can harm you. You won't get lynched for being undocumented, your employer won't call DHS on you because he's been harboring illegal immigrants before you and won't risk going to prison, your neighbors can call DHS on you but what proof do they have that you are undocumented? It's all rumors, officials need concrete evidence and even they need a warrant to get inside your home. Same goes for school, classmates, and co-workers. The only thing you can do is to keep your car in order because you can't afford to get pulled over, you never know what kind of cop you are going to get. I got pulled over once for a bad light, told the officer I was studying and showed him my student ID, and was let go with a warning. Lessons learned? Not every cop is an asshole, keep a clean record, and keep my vehicle in check.

You really need to look at your situation from the point of view of a regular human being. Your future is in your hands, there are millions like you out there, your situation isn't unique at all and has repeated itself throughout history, people don't care about us as much as you think and we only think this way because we are social beings, everyone has different struggles that can be overcome by having the right attitude except for those that inevitably lead to death.

Think really hard about your options, write down clear goals and give them dates, and remember this: The key to happiness is not giving a fuck while still managing not to fuck your life up.

Watch these, you'll enjoy them: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/philo...-to-happiness/

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
-Calvin Coolidge

Everyone has a talent, what is rare is the courage to follow it to the dark place where it leads.
-Erica Jong