r/MentalHealthSupport

I have been really struggling with depression after a breakup and don’t know how to tell my friends. Or if I even should. I feel really lonely and low energy. I feel bad that I can’t be my usually self for them and like i’m being a bad friend. But I’m afraid that if I tell them how bad it is they’ll feel guilt tripped? They live far away so i don’t even know what they could do to help. But I feel like I am digging myself into a deeper lonelier hole by not telling anyone. I’ve been depressed for months but it was manageable and would get better for a bit but since the break up i’ve hit a low i’ve never experienced before.

I’m in therapy and I started antidepressants. I work out, I go to the beach on the weekends, I participate in my hobbies, and I am still so depressed. I am functional. I go to work, I shower, I get dressed. But I am constantly on the verge of sobbing and when i’m alone i can’t stop crying. It feels like there’s this heavy pit in my mind weighing me down and I don’t know how to be myself with friends anymore. so i’ve kind of pulled away. what do i do? I feel like im doing everything by the book but i haven’t felt a single positive emotion in weeks.

Hi. So, I don’t really have anyone in my life to ask this, so I’m posting here.

I guess what I’m asking is: what options do I have if what I really need is something closer to a consistent friend-type support person? Like someone I can actually talk to regularly outside of therapy, not just once a week sessions. I struggle a lot with functioning and being alone, and I feel like I need more ongoing contact and accountability.

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I’ve been struggling with depression and anxiety for 11 years, and it’s gotten really bad recently.

I don’t take care of myself. I barely eat, don’t sleep right, don’t go out, and I don’t really do anything anymore.

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I have AVPD and I don’t really have friends. Even with family I still feel alone. I work a customer-facing job and just get through it.

I feel like a husk. No connection, no hobbies, no real life outside of work.

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I’ve tried therapy, a dietitian, and a doctor. It doesn’t feel like enough. Therapy is one hour a week and then I’m alone again.

What I feel like I need is something closer to a consistent friend-type support person I can check in with regularly, because I shut down a lot and struggle to function on my own.

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I can’t afford IOP and don’t have insurance right now. I don’t really know what else exists that actually provides that kind of ongoing support.

I’ve looked at peer groups, coaching, and apps like WEConnect but I don’t know if any of it is actually what I’m looking for.

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I just feel like I’m out of options. I’m so fucking tired.

If anyone has ideas, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks for reading.

Hi everyone

Decided to post on Reddit because so far, professional help hasnt been helpful 😕

Btw, English isnt my first language

My gradma, in 2021 was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and has been medicated ever since.

But since the begining, she has some crises from time to time where she doesnt recognize my grandpa, her husband. And every physician - general GP, psychiatrist and neurologist, doesnt value this situation.

This year, things are worse.

It has become more frequent these type of episodes where she doesnt recognize her husband and other symptoms have appeared:

1. She has these wierd conversation where "other people" are going to pick her up to go to the airport, or buy stuff from her
2. She has several days where she doesnt stop crying.
3. She mixes days of the week, and says that there is school on saturdays. The other day, she told me that someone changed the sequence of the days of the week and that friday came first and then came thursday.

These episodes are more frequent in the end of the day and during the winter.

During these episodes, she says that my grandpa is some stranger and wants him to leave the house. She can be verbally abusive towards him.

She has done blood work, CT scan and a MRI and everything is normal for her age (76 years old) and for her medical history ( in 2018 she had a brain surgery to extract a meningeal tumor and the surgery went well).

Any idea of where to go from here?

I (17f) have struggled with being mentally stable for the last few years. I do not know how to describe it accurately, but for some months I feel really down and kind of depressed, and then my brain suddenly snaps and I feel like I could do literally anything. This may last several weeks, and during this period of time I start taking up a lot of new hobbies, feel super productive, and can study without getting tired at all. It is almost insane because I sleep like 3–4 hours and still feel super awake the next day. I always thought that was normal until I saw how tired some of my classmates are after getting 6 hours of sleep. There have also been nights when I slept around an hour and still felt fine the day after. I would actually say that I really like this feeling of being unstoppable; however, I have done things I regretted, like befriending people I do not actually even like, spending money on pointless things, and signing up for extra courses I could not cancel afterwards.

On the other hand, whenever I am feeling depressed, which can last for several months, I struggle to get out of bed and miss several days of school (I have missed like 30 days already this school year, and I have school until July). I also tend to get into a lot of fights with my parents because I have less sense of time and feel disconnected from the world overall, which leads me to accidentally break promises, talk to them in ways they do not want to be talked to, etc.

I have always thought that these were the mood swings every teenager gets, but I do not know anyone whose experiences are like mine. It is just kind of confusing how I am either super excited about everything, feel great overall, and stuff, or feel super depressed. There are in-betweens, but if I had to, I could tell you which “phase” I have been in during which period of time. I never really noticed that until I first experienced the change from one to another. I was feeling really suicidal at that time (for about half a year) and made lots of self-destructive decisions. People found out about it, and I was sent to therapy by my teacher. A few days later, all those feelings were suddenly gone and I started doing stuff like obsessively learning a language, starting to write, and doing lots of things I would normally never have the motivation to do. People said that I suddenly became much more extroverted because I started talking loudly and rapidly all the time. I felt insane and, in a way, non-human, but I was finally free and felt like my true self.

Fast forward a few months later, and I was feeling really bad again. I could go on, but I think you see where I am getting at.

I have only noticed this pattern of behaviour recently, and it feels absolutely confusing to me. Right now, I feel really good again, but now I know that it is not going to stay like this forever.

I'm not trying to ask "what's wrong with me", but I would like to know if I can stabilise my mood somehow and if there are other people with the same experience as me. I feel like I am being a bit overdramatic, but it makes everything exhausting and small problems are hard to deal with.

i just feel numb, nothing feels real it just feels like im just watching someone living and its all going wrong, i dont have anyone to talk to or be with and i just feel like im just not as good as anybody needs and i just feel like constantly getting pushed away, people just fake promise and dont take me seriously and think that i dont care but i truly care about everything but i just cant show that i do , i even care so much to the point i get attached

to people and when they leave or push me away i feel betrayed but i remember that they didnt do anything wrong but its just that why did they do that? i just carry this fear of what people think of me and even when they tell me i just think their lying and most of the time this was proven to be true.

i have a lot of stuff on my mind to the point i just get really tired from thinking not only mentally but also physically, i also struggle with porn addiction which literally killing me i just feel so dizzy and when i lay down i feel so dizzy to the point i fall and i feel my heart beating fast in times it shouldnt like when im lying in bed.

and most importantly i have this feeling in my chest that doenst go away no matter what, its like when i was a kid and i did something wrong and im just scared from my parents, same feeling but this just doesnt go away and it feels heavy(literally) i thought it was like stress or something and they i was told to just inhale and exhale but i swear it doesnt go at all no matter what.

Im not suicidal but god damn I am in a bad place. I guess I just want someone to talk to. I just left a voicemail with my psychologist but idk

Hi, I feel like something isn’t right with me and I’m not sure how to fix it. For about two years now, I’ve been calling in sick at least once a week.

It started after I had a really bad experience with a manager at a previous workplace. Ever since then, work has felt overwhelming. I wake up feeling exhausted, like I haven’t slept, and when I do go in I’m constantly yawning. On the days I call in, I procrastinate and feel anxious and guilty the entire day, so I don’t understand why I keep repeating this pattern.

I know mindset plays a role, but I don’t know how to change it. I did try a different job and managed to show up every day for two weeks, but then I lost motivation again and fell back into the same cycle.

For context, I’m a 23-year-old autistic female with a mild intellectual disability. I also struggle with my diet because I can’t really afford proper food, which I know affects my energy and mental health. It feels like an endless cycle—if I don’t have the resources to take care of myself properly, I don’t know how I’m meant to improve my mindset or feel better.

I’ve been told I’m experiencing burnout, and I did try the strategies my therapist suggested, like doing things I enjoy, but it didn’t seem to help much. So I’m not sure if it’s just burnout or a mix of things.

I would talk to my therapist more about this, but her fees keep increasing and it’s becoming too expensive, especially with the cost of living where I am.

I was approved for NDIS a while ago, but I haven’t been contacted to move forward. When I followed up, they said they’re still working through applications.

I just feel stuck and unsure what to do next

This is also a vent post too, so I'm sorry. This whole post will most likely be all scrambled up, im just trying to let my thoughts and emotions out because I can't suppress them anymore.

I'm so so fucking tired. I'm so unbelievably depressed and so unbelievably exhausted. I hate my life so much and it isn't even a joke anymore. I hate myself. I hate how I look, I hate how I talk, I hate my body, I hate the way I think, I hate everything about me dude. the last time I felt happy was September of last year when I was with my now ex. she was the love of my life. I loved her so much. her beautiful blue eyes, her long dirty blonde hair, the way she smiled, the way she would rest her head on her hand, the way she would comfort me when I was crying in her arms, the way she hugged me. I miss all of it so much and I fucked up so bad. I should've talked to her more, I shouldn't have been distant, I should've helped her. she was the only thing that made my life worth living. I talked to her the other day about her mh, and the last time she felt happy. you wanna know what she said? the last time she was happy was with me when we were dating. do you wanna know how fucked I was that night? I cried and cried all night long, I didn't fall asleep until 5 o'clock in the morning. I take substances that I don't even like so that I can feel somewhat normal and not like a depressed, worthless loser. I hate how I am becoming my father, he would snort random pills in front of me, and now I'm doing the same. I don't know if I can mentally hold on anymore. I want to feel happy, I want to experience a life worth loving again. I want my LaiLai back, I want her back so fucking bad. I loved her and I still do. I don't even love myself anymore. I can't take any of this shit much longer. I genuinely do t even know if I'm gonna make it out of HS. I have attempted atleast a dozen times within the past 2 years, 2 landed me in the hosiptal. I am so tired. when will things get better? how can things get better? please I need help I genuinely need help. dm me if you want, or just reply to this post. thank you

About Me

Hyperfocus, which is common in people with ADHD, makes me intensely fixated on things — so much that it becomes mentally and physically exhausting. It often leads to brain fog, fatigue, and memory issues. I focus on too many things at once and don’t know when to stop; it’s like I have the pedals in my head but no brakes. The overstimulation from Wellbutrin makes this worse — it raises my anxiety and pushes me even deeper into this hyperfocused state. ADHD paralysis also affects me; I know I can do more and want to achieve things, but something always restricts me until I burn out.

The mental clutter, brain fog, constant rumination, and non-stop internal monologue feel unbearable at times. My mind feels like it has dozens of tabs open, and someone else is holding the remote. I can’t calm down or stay still, and my motivation keeps slipping away. I know I can function better — more calmly, more naturally — but something inside stops me from accessing that part of myself. It’s frustrating, because I can feel the potential there, yet I can’t reach it.

I’ve tried talking to my mom about this, but I don’t think she really understands, even though she tries to act like she does. It upsets me, but I keep going back to her, hoping she’ll finally understand or validate what I feel. I end up trapped in my own head — like I’m in a prison I can’t escape. It fuels my depression, and even though I’m on Wellbutrin, sometimes it feels like it only makes things worse, leading to overstimulation and more anxiety.

I desperately want to slow down — to be able to rest, sit still, and feel peace for just a moment — but every time I try, anxiety kicks in. It sparks my ADHD paralysis, this cycle of fear that something’s wrong, that I’m wasting time, that I’m not doing enough. It feeds the same loop of overstimulation, paralysis, and exhaustion. I chase little dopamine hits to fill the emptiness, but it always backfires. It’s hard to realize in the moment that I’m doing harm to myself just to feel okay for a second.

When the brain fog or paralysis hit, I start acting immature or lazy — making jokes, being sarcastic, using humor to cover up how lost I feel. Inside, I’m screaming at myself: I know this is wrong, why can’t I move? It’s like someone else is controlling me or pushing me down with invisible weight. It makes me feel stupid, like I have no control over my own brain. It hurts.

I tend to seek validation and attention from others — my friends, my family — sometimes just to feel something, to get that short dopamine hit. Maybe it’s ego, or maybe it’s just wanting to be seen, to not feel invisible. I get bothered easily, want things to go my way, and when they don’t, I become irritated and perfectionistic. I procrastinate constantly, which frustrates me even more. I also notice avoidant behaviors and quick emotional shifts, which might be mood swings. It makes relationships difficult because I cycle through burnout, anxiety, insecurity, and self-doubt. It often spirals into negativity about myself and the people I care about.

These layers — ADHD, anxiety, overstimulation, perfectionism, validation-seeking, and burnout — combine into something that drains me completely. I’ve felt suicidal at times because of it. I feel sick, overstimulated, and trapped in this mental cycle I can’t break. I’ve tried coping strategies, but when ADHD paralysis sets in, I forget them. When I remember, I get frustrated that I have to relearn them all over again. Even when I try to go outside for a walk or fresh air, which helps a little, the rumination, intrusive thoughts, and inner noise return as soon as I settle down.

Sometimes I get intrusive thoughts — bursts of anger or dark impulses that appear when I’m mentally and emotionally burned out. I also struggle with emotional numbness; I crave the ability to truly feel and connect again. I just want to feel human — to have empathy, to think clearly, to not feel like my mind is running without me.

It’s also hard for me to be alone. I seek connection constantly. I’ll admit that — I truly don’t like being alone. My ex was my main source of companionship, and since that ended, I’ve been struggling deeply with loneliness. I overthink everything, especially about her. She’s doing better than me now, and I know she’s not alone like I am. I tell myself that she grew up with guy friends, but now that we’re adults, it bothers me more. Maybe I’m just insecure, but it still hurts. I know guys will often wait for an opportunity, and that thought messes with me. Still, I’m trying to accept that it’s out of my control. It is what it is.

Right now, I don’t have much going on in my life. I know I want goals, direction, and progress, but I feel stuck — stuck on my phone, in bed, looping through the same patterns every day. I’ve learned that staying inactive like this can reduce how effective my medications (Wellbutrin and Guanfacine) are. They’re meant to help with depression, anxiety, and ADHD, but they work best when combined with an active lifestyle. Since I haven’t been active, maybe I haven’t experienced their full effect yet. I want to start building a routine and staying consistent with it to see if that makes a difference and helps me feel more balanced.

I’ve also been reading about upcoming medications like Centanafadine, which might be more effective for people like me who struggle with overstimulation and attention regulation. Maybe switching things up could help someday. For now, though, I need to focus on working through these issues slowly, step by step.

This is who I am right now — not who I want to be forever. I still have hope that things will get better. I want to become someone who can focus, feel calm, act kindly, and think clearly. I want to live with less chaos in my head, a more positive and peaceful mindset, and genuine stability. Maybe things will take time, but I believe that I’ll get there, because I still think and feel there's a little bit of hope left, or maybe it might be forever. Anyways, thank you for listening. 

If anyone has advice on managing severe dissociation, I'd love to hear it. I can hardly think deep thoughts, and I space out for minutes at a time very often when I'm overwhelmed. My memory is unreliable in both the long and short term. I often get freaked out when I see myself in a reflection and remember I'm a real person, and most of my days are spent zoned out or feeling like I'm on autopilot.

Even just asking me clarifying questions to help me understand myself a bit better would be really great, because I feel so lost.