[ryanb]

Hey Guys/Girls,

I'd really appreciate any tips/guidance/help i can get...Im feeling at this point there really is no hope for me to get better and back to myself!!

I live in Sydney, Australia. Male and just turned 22 ( Personality: Non-aggressive/Shy/Self Conscious/Not Extroverted nor am i spot on with Introverted). Anyway so why i'm here reaching out to you! Ive had the effects of Major Depression/Moderate-Severe Anxiety for the past 7 months. Traveling back to where i was 8 months ago i was at a really high benchmark in my life:

Girlfriend
New Car
New Job close to home instead of 4 hrs travel each day

About 1 month later i started feeling the effects of anxiety coming on (for the first 2-3 months i didn't know what this feeling was and just thought i couldn't switch off from work/bored of the same activities/routine and was staying up late at night seeking satisfaction from the day)

I Lost the ability to enjoy any of the things i used to enjoy:

Surfing
Skateboarding
Computer Games
TV Shows
Alcohol/Going out/Hanging with friends ( Alcohol amplifies my anxiety and esspecially combined with public places = no fun)

As you can expect this has progressed and got worse month by month.

So far iv tried 2 different anti-depressants:

Cymbalta (tried for 3 weeks, side effects: really agitated, restless)
Lovan (currently on for the past 6 weeks, side effects: drowsy)

The drowsy feeling seems to help with coping with the constant anxiety so far that i can go to sleep at midnight instead of 3am, let my body relax at least sometimes)

This anti-depressant feels like its only just holding me up by a sting from rock bottom...makes anxiety easier to cope with day-to-day however the feeling of constant worry, feeling in my stomache, heartbeat is still with me)

I'm up late at night just trying to figure out why i am this way and i cant work it out...i shouldn't be depressed or anxious yet these feelings have taken control of me.... I don't go out anymore, do anything i used to enjoy doing because iv tried for so long and i haven't got any enjoyment out of these activities and hasn't helped me.

One other thing to note would be since i hit puberty (12), my average moods each month would consist of 2 weeks of average-good and then the next 2 weeks below average-depressed.

I really feel like the anxiety is the cause of my depression but im no expert the brain is far too complex for me to understand.

Thank you for taking the time to read my long description and Please if you have any tips/suggestions/better medication for anxiety/vitamins, suppliments anything!! could you please share them with me!