I can say that I was diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder(the two are often hard to distinguish) a few years ago.
Most of the suggestions for things to do in this thread are good, but ultimately going and seeking help from a qualified professional IS the best thing to do. Therapy may be the right answer, medication might be the right answer, or some combination of those might be the answer. There are plenty of easily treatable conditions like thyroid problems that can cause symptoms, or perhaps something like an SSRI(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-the most common class of antidepressants) might be the answer.
BTW, IF you do go down the SSRI route be forewarned that they can take ~1 month to start working and it may take trial and error to find the one that works for you. In the SHORT term, benzodiazepines(Xanax, Ativan, Klonipin, Valium-they mostly differ in onset time and duration of action) can provide some immediate relief, but current consensus is to use them for short term treatment only-basically no more than about 3 or 4 weeks to get you over the "hump" to SSRIs.
Just to give a bit of history about how mine came about-I can remember distinctly sitting one evening watching TV and just being overcome with anxiety. I couldn't place what it was or point to any trigger, but just knew that I was so ill at ease I was basically paralyzed. In retrospect, that was likely an anxiety attack. Over the following weeks, that feeling would wax and wane in intensity but it was always there. The thought of eating made me sick(even though I forced myself to) and I couldn't sleep. I would drag myself to go to work every day and go through the motions, but that was it. I have plenty of hobbies, but couldn't even make myself concentrate on anything long enough to take my mind off everything else. I couldn't find ANYTHING I could do on my own that would help. I can also remember there being times where I'd just break out in tears for no apparent reason, although that strangely was one of the few things that would make me feel better. My friends and parents both would drag me out to do things with them, but I honestly couldn't find any pleasure in anything. ALL of these things are textbook symptoms of clinical depression.
My parents FINALLY convinced me to visit a doctor, and between therapy and SSRIs(yes, I went through a few) I'm at about 99.9% of where I once was. I do still find myself taking an occasional klonipin, but that's rare and I do keep them around(with an active prescription) for a "just in case" brewing panic attack.
You've done the right thing by reaching out here, but strangers on the internet can only do so much.
Most of the suggestions for things to do in this thread are good, but ultimately going and seeking help from a qualified professional IS the best thing to do. Therapy may be the right answer, medication might be the right answer, or some combination of those might be the answer. There are plenty of easily treatable conditions like thyroid problems that can cause symptoms, or perhaps something like an SSRI(selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor-the most common class of antidepressants) might be the answer.
BTW, IF you do go down the SSRI route be forewarned that they can take ~1 month to start working and it may take trial and error to find the one that works for you. In the SHORT term, benzodiazepines(Xanax, Ativan, Klonipin, Valium-they mostly differ in onset time and duration of action) can provide some immediate relief, but current consensus is to use them for short term treatment only-basically no more than about 3 or 4 weeks to get you over the "hump" to SSRIs.
Just to give a bit of history about how mine came about-I can remember distinctly sitting one evening watching TV and just being overcome with anxiety. I couldn't place what it was or point to any trigger, but just knew that I was so ill at ease I was basically paralyzed. In retrospect, that was likely an anxiety attack. Over the following weeks, that feeling would wax and wane in intensity but it was always there. The thought of eating made me sick(even though I forced myself to) and I couldn't sleep. I would drag myself to go to work every day and go through the motions, but that was it. I have plenty of hobbies, but couldn't even make myself concentrate on anything long enough to take my mind off everything else. I couldn't find ANYTHING I could do on my own that would help. I can also remember there being times where I'd just break out in tears for no apparent reason, although that strangely was one of the few things that would make me feel better. My friends and parents both would drag me out to do things with them, but I honestly couldn't find any pleasure in anything. ALL of these things are textbook symptoms of clinical depression.
My parents FINALLY convinced me to visit a doctor, and between therapy and SSRIs(yes, I went through a few) I'm at about 99.9% of where I once was. I do still find myself taking an occasional klonipin, but that's rare and I do keep them around(with an active prescription) for a "just in case" brewing panic attack.
You've done the right thing by reaching out here, but strangers on the internet can only do so much.
