Hey, I dont normally do these kinda things but lately Ive been in such a dark place, and I cant seem to shake it off. I tried drinking, going out with friends 24/7, crying, sleeping, etc. Nothing works and I still just feel like poop. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety, but lately I just feel like its gone haywire. My gorgeous dog passed away last week, I think that really spiked up my poop feelings. My boyfriend and I broke up this summer after 3 years of longggg distance as well. I just want to stop feeling so lost. Does anyone have any ideas what I could possibly do to start feeling okay asap? Thanks. xo

excercise or dancing?

, doesnt work, Ive tried working out/jogging etc. Thank you though.

I think you shouldn't shoot down the exercise suggestion, as it'd be a good suggestion for pretty much every other problem you'll ever face as well. Whether or not you think it's helping, it does, and it will prevent a lot more problems down the road.

As for my suggestions, are you seeing a doctor or therapist about this? And what is your living situation like right now?

Im not shooting it down lol Ive tried exercising and it doenst help my mood sadly. At least from what I feel anyways. What problems does it prevent? Im seeing a new doctor in a few weeks, I think for meds. My living situation isnt healthy, to say the least.

Exercise helps nearly every part of your body. By starting an exercise regiment early on in life, you will help prevent some diseases from ever affecting you, and stave off effects of old age longer. This site gets slightly more in depth, but as you age and see more people around you get sick, you'll find out just how many conditions and maladies are made better by exercise.

You should know what you're seeing them for, you are the only one who can control your depression and anxiety, a doctor can only help so much.

Well I can't help much with specifics if I don't have any, but if you're living with some toxic people, I would highly urge you to start making a strict budget so that you can get out on your own. For that matter, take a look at what stress will do to your body if you keep letting it consume you.

I apologize if this comes off as harsh or preachy, I'm just feeling particularly passionate about the topic right now because I was just diagnosed with a rare condition (idiopathic intracranial hypertension), and one of its risk factors is being overweight. And I got to that point because I have not managed my depression and anxiety very well.

Ill check out the link, thanks for all the info. Also, the 'I think' in that post was because I have two appointments...not because I didnt know what they were for. I wrote it down on my calendar, but I keep mixing them up if Im not looking at them. Thats what Im trying to do, but its hard because Im halfway done college and I just wanna keep going. But, my living situation is pretty bad. Its nearly impossible to go to college full time and work. Its a lot of things to think about and decide on at once vs. whats best for me. Im not making an excuse, its just hard to figure whats best for me at this point in time with everything going on and Im pretty bad at decision making lol. That stress link is pretty crazy. Its fine. Im sorry about your condition. Ive never heard of it till I looked it up. I hope everything sorts itself out. Im pretty underweight actually by genetics and what not. My friends say Im fine..but I think Im quite small. So if I do exercise, itll hopefully make me heavier and gain muscle that way.

- As someone who also is living in a toxic environment (my parents) and going to school, you need to get out of that environment ASAP. I wanted to finish my A.S. degree next year, but have decided to put it on hold to work full time. I became suicidal because of my living situation. Thankfully, my boyfriend saved my life. But, I don't want you to get to that point.

If you don't have a full time job, find one. Once you have one, save up and move out. Once you feel stable, go back to school part time. I think this is the best option for you.

Thats what Im planning on doing, I think. Im going to finish this semester and then take a break for a bit and find a good job. Its been at that suicidal point for years now, but I dont like talking about it. Im glad he did that for you. If it wasnt for my ex, I wouldnt be here now either. Thank you for your suggestion. <3

- I think you should stick with you plan. And, I'm glad you had someone to save you. :)

Me too. I hope I can manage this all myself. Same to you. Unfortunately my ex turned into a HUGE jerk, but Im very fortunate to have our memories together.

Well, for one, you've got to give yourself time for your dog. It's not healthy to expect and demand yourself to be happy after a loss like that. You need to mourn, and mourning takes time. I think the same thing goes with the breakup... but as I have never been in that scenario I can't vouch for that. Anyway pushing yourself to "be okay" after that only makes the process longer. You've lost one of your best friends, of course it's going to hurt.

One thing that might help with that is working with other animals. Fostering a dog, or helping out at a shelter. That always seems to help me after the loss of a dear friend/pet.

It's great that you're being so proactive about all this, by the way. A lot of people don't have the courage to face their realities so you're already much better off than so many others.

If it were me, personally, I would change my work availability for a little while to put a lot of time into roommate hunting so I could get out of that bad situation. I imagine you probably can't scale back your school because you wouldn't qualify for financial aid anymore.

Don't make any terribly risky situations, but remember that any kind of change is scary, and you can't let fear run your life or you'll never be happy.

Sorry for the late reply. I think grieving is super important as well. I think its essential for a breakup so you have time to sit down and think about everything. I was thinking of fostering a dog/cat of my friends actually! I hope that will help. I just miss his company so much. He was such a sweetie.

Sorry for the late reply as well. Thank you so much for saying that, it means a lot. I just try to face everything head on to the best of my ability. Hmm thats also a good idea, thank you. And exactly :/ I dunno if I ever wanna be happy, I just wanna be okay.

I know what you mean about the happiness thing, I feel that way a lot. Sometimes I just want to be okay, but I've also had some risks turn into wonderful endings. I think you'll know which risks are "right" when the time comes.