@stefanstarovoitov
I can empathize with you. I stopped caring about myself and my health/life in 2023. I felt like someone hijacked me and still struggling to find my former self (feel like I am functioning at 10% of my former self).

I think the medical profession and workers are not educated about mental health support beyond prescribing medication. Not many can empathize or fully understand unless they personally have experienced major anxiety/depression or they have a close family member or friend struggling with it. My experience has been that many medical professionals are ill equipped and uncomfortable dealing with significant mental health conditions. I switched medication management to a psychiatrist nurse practitioner who is more patient talking through symptoms and problems with medications and adjusting medications to get to a better combination that helps. It has been over 1.5 years trying different medications and a frustrating process. I need to function as a single parent for my teen son. I have no family and he depends on me. I am currently unemployed and disabled (have spine issues and chronic pain plus spinal cord injury and major depression so it is hard to do much).

It is very hard but we must advocate for ourselves to get the help we need to be able to function and improve our quality of life. Don’t give up on yourself. We can’t base our self care on others. I am trying really hard to slowly recover some of my former self now that my medication seems to be better managed. My son, dogs and cats need me. They need me to care for myself for them. It is hard every day but I am hanging on to hope for a better future than today.