Is anyone dealing with extreme dread?

You might try a stellate ganglion block. I had the block. It's an injection in the neck. I immediately felf a lightness of being. Things I was trying to figure out were without the emotional heaviness that makes thinking difficult.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10303073/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20stellate%20ganglion%20block%20treatment,month%20following%20the%20SGB%20injection.

Try prayer.

"Not my will but thine be done" works for me.

After I had a stroke, I was terrified of another one that would kill me or worse, leave me totally incapacitated. I could not shake the sense that disaster was imminent. This went on for a very long time.

Finally, I just gave up and told God, "If that's your plan, so be it," and resigned myself. It helped a lot.

Every morning for almost three years, I wake with a sense of dread. It's as if my life terrifies me...Often gets better as the day goes on,but lately it's getting harder to shake it off. I'm retired, live alone, and not getting any younger...Covid has made me almost a recluse, and even getting out to go food shopping is an effort.
It helps me to get out hiking in the woods, but it was 9° this am...

I’ve had extreme dread for two years, retired, 68, and gets worse every day. I have family and they don’t understand as I don’t look sick

This is my first comment. However, I am feeling the same. I have no desires for anything other than staying at home. I have been an avid golfer for 3 decades but now no interest in even playing any longer. I have been on 20+ medications 28 sessions of TMS also 6 session of ECT. My primary care provider just called a script for Auvelity. I have read a great deal about this new so-called medication just for treatment resistant depression. I am picking it up tomorrow afternoon. But will not start until Friday. I hope this has helped you in some kind of way. I refuse to let this disease win!

It’s comforting to know that someone else is doing through thins awful thing! I used to love being active going to the gym cooking and working at Bass Pro Shops being independent and now I can hardly do anything! Hang in there I hope this new medication helps you 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you, I plan to keep updates as I go into this with a positive attitude.

What type of doctor does this?

Chronic pain doctors. I saw Dr. Lipov in chicago https://chicagoivsolution.com/sgb-ptsd/. I think the dread response is an overactive sympathetic nervous system. The treatment has has been advanced by the prevalence of PTSD. The treatment is painless and quick with only local anesthsia and under fluroscopy. I really hope you are amazed by it. It's a sense of freedom.
best wishes

How do you tell your doctor about this without bruising his ego?

For years I sent him articles relating to SLE, thinking I was helping by sharing my newfound knowledge; I just learned very recently that he took it as I was not confident of his competence in caring for me and my SLE.

THIS sounds great. I get the dreads at times, usually when I want to present something like this to him….I suffer greatly from indecisiveness, and lack of joy in my life because of so many recent occurrences at the age of 76, alone and widowed for 13 years. Ive become reclusive more and more as people think I should not feel this way. I might add, these other people are only in their 50’s.