I’m not sure if I have depression or not?

[john5425]

I am a healthy 29 year old male, with a good job and a wife.

lately I have been finding myself feeling lost with little purpose. 
I use to always love any free time I could get to work on my cars or work around the house, but lately I have no drive to do anything at all. I sometimes find myself opening up Netflix then just staring at the screen because I don’t even want to watch something.

I spend hours scrolling through Facebook not even enjoying what I’m looking at.

I’m not always sad, most of the time I am happy but I’m finding now I am starting to feel sad and lost for 1-2 weeks at a time.

I have good friends but I don’t even feel like making plans.

For the first time in my life I’m dreading a long weekend coming up because I don’t feel like doing anything at all, and I am scared that I will just sit around and feel worthless all weekend. 

I don’t feel comfortable talking to my wife about it, which makes me feel worse.

I have seen sever depression first hand and this isn’t that, but I’m not sure why i am feeling so down lately 

[therising]

Hi john

I feel for you so much and I'm so glad you came here with a need to explore why you're feeling the way you are. Always pays to begin wondering and exploring.

Being a 52yo gal and having managed periods in and outside of depression from my late teens 'til recent times, one of the things I've learned is there can be a whole variety of reasons for why I can enter into a downshift I can feel. From past experience: A depressing level of sleep apnea, B12 deficiency, internal dialogue. A depressing lack of guidance, support, sense of purpose, motivation and inspiration. A depressing lack of adventure, excitement and joy in life (esp my marriage). There have been a number of other factors too. Some reasons have been chemical/physical based (B12), some more so mental (inner dialogue and a need to shift perception) and some have even been soulful kinds of reasons (lack of inspiration or soulful guidance). Each reason eventually become mentally, physically and soulfully impacting all at once.

Can have a basic lack of something, a significant lack of something, a serious lack of something and a depressing lack of something. So you could have a basic feeling of a lack of purpose or a basic lack of good quality sleep which is not too much of a problem but as things shift they can shift all the way through to depressing (a depressing lack of purpose or a depressing lack of quality sleep, for example). I've learned depressing level is alarm bell level, 'Ding, ding, ding. You can't go on living this way, it's intolerable. You need to address this now!!!'. Perhaps you're feeling yourself at a serious level bordering on depressing.

At 29, do you feel like everyone around you has 'settled down' in some ways and there's not enough 'up' or maybe the old 'go to' ways that always proved exciting have naturally lost some of their luster over time? They just don't cut it anymore? Are there leaders in your life, leading you to add ventures to life that you can really feel (aka adventuring)? While considering such things, can't hurt to also explore physical possibilities re a lack of energy (through blood tests).

We're designed to be energetic creatures. When the energy's not there, it's definitely something you can feel.

[geoff]

Hello John, I'm sorry you are feeling like this, but depression can work in many different ways and to feel sad for a long time doesn't necessarily start straight away as it can begin by way of losing interest in what you once enjoyed before and then progresses to other ways that then stop you from wanting to be involved.

It doesn't matter whether you have a good job, love your wife and have plenty of friends because suddenly all of this has no meaning in your life.

I'm not a doctor and can't diagnose you, however from what you have told us it certainly could mean the beginning of developing this illness.

There is an online test for depression which you can do, but try and do this several times of the day/night then it can indicate whether or not you are suffering from it.

Please let us know your results.

Geoff.

Life Member.