I've been dealing with GAD and health anxiety for about 12 years, (I'm a
21 year old male). As a 9 year old, I would make my parents take me to
the doctor at least once a week to confirm that I didn't have
meningococcal, and throughout my teen years ...
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I've been dealing with GAD and health anxiety for about 12 years, (I'm a
21 year old male). As a 9 year old, I would make my parents take me to
the doctor at least once a week to confirm that I didn't have
meningococcal, and throughout my teen years I was convinced that I had
three different types of cancer, HIV, and Lyme disease. I generally do a
good job of seeking help, I see a psychologist once a fortnight and I
regularly talk to my family about my mental health. I am more anxious
than depressed most of the time. I've had periods of depression
throughout my life, but I would never say that I've experienced it to
the extent that other people have. I'm wondering if depression is what
I'm experiencing now, and hoping that someone on here can reassure me
that what I'm feeling is a normal part of depression. I usually have a
pretty easy time describing how I feel, and discussing my feelings with
people. However, lately, I don't feel as able to do this. I feel this
overwhelming sense of numbness, lack of interest in people and things
that I usually care about, and a sense of impending doom. I feel like
sleeping all day, I don't want to be around anybody and don't feel like
things will ever get better. I don't feel like I am able to articulate
how I feel to people, there are no really strong emotions, it just feels
like an internal pit of emptiness. I don't know how to describe it any
better than that. I wonder if this is depression, I feel a little bit
sad, but more than anything I just feel hopeless/helpless, like I don't
care about anything anymore, and that my quality of life will never
improve. Has anyone ever experienced this, do you think it is
depression? If so, do you have any tips on feeling better? Any responses
are valued, I just don't really have anyone that can relate to me in
terms of dealing with depression and anxiety, so I thought I would try
to get some responses on this forum. Thank you, and to anyone reading
this that feels similar or has experienced anxiety, I hope you feel
better soon and know that you have a friend in me.