Renarde

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced symptoms like me and if it's considered depression.

I don't have constant sadness. I don't cry. But what does happen is that I fall into ruts where it feels like even brushing my teeth is too hard. Where I could go for days in the same pjs, don't shower, could sleep for probably 24 hrs at a time. Just let everything pile up. Don't make plans, don't talk to anyone. I end up feeling like an exhausted zombie. I barely feed myself. Everything is just too tiring. Any self-care feels like climbing a mountain. I manage to get by because I have to take care of my child and I certainly don't let anything slide In that regard. But it is hard for me to even get dressed some days. I don't understand it. I don't know if it's a consequence of how hard I usually push myself or if it's like perfectionism crash or what. I've been like this for years. My husband is gone for five days and I'm in this place right now where I may not be able to force myself to do anything beyond sleep and take care of my child and get some work done at home. I used to have unexplained, heavy sadness too but I take an anti-depressant and now that I've been sober I feel even better in that regard. It's just this immobility that hits me. Usually I am super clean and active and high achieving but when these things hit its like I'm just stuck in mud until it lifts. One thing I used alcohol for at times was some energy to interact with people and get things done when I felt like this. I am able to care well for my primary responsibilities (child & work) but everything else is so hard.

YoungAndClean

I go through a similar cycle sometimes and what I do now is try my best to allow myself to be as lazy, stagnant, and unproductive as I need to be. I had a week around 2 months into sobriety where I would go to a 6am meeting, come home, do some daily devotional reading, and then just cat-nap for hours. It wasn't depression, it was an exhausted feeling of apathy mostly. So I just went through it, and then one day I had the strength to get up out of bed, go outside, and get some yardwork done. That simple act was like the first drink in a way, in the sense that once I started I felt a lot better, so why wouldn't I want more? And it just kind of builds on itself until I'm out of the rut. So thats how I deal with those periods, and I hope your able to find something that works for you too

Br00ksie

I'm no doctor, but I do suffer from depression and anxiety and have experienced every single symptom that you mentioned. I now see a psychiatrist (and saw a therapist weekly when I had insurance), am on medicine which treats my depression and my anxiety and thank my lucky stars every day for whoever invented that medication, for it has produced tremendous results!!

Unfortunately there is no such thing as a fix-all and sometimes it takes some trial-and-error to find the most appropriate medication, none of which are without side-effects, but for me, medication has DEFINITELY, WITHOUT A DOUBT, mitigated my symptoms!

Sometimes medications lose their effectiveness or other symptoms arise that your medication isn't treating (which happened to me). It's worth doing some internet research on depression/anxiety medications and talking to a professional about what you're experiencing.

foolsgold66

Yes, I've had those symptoms. Could be depression. Could be the lingering effects of alcohol abuse and your body adjusting. Could be physical sickness, allergies even.

Go to the doctor, your regular one to start. Be honest.

Freebird13

You're not alone, Renarde. I get the same way sometimes and wonder if it's actually depression because I'm really not feeling sad or depressed. Could it be biorhythms? Or could it be just simple laziness? Or could it be that I don't have energy sometimes because I don't eat healthy or don't get out and get sunshine sometimes? Who knows? I don't get too worked up about it because it usually doesn't last long. However, if you are like this for weeks on end, I definitely would consult a doctor.