I feel too depressed to even eat, how can I stop this ?

I’ve been going through a similar thing lately, and have been through this before. The following advice is going to seem hard to follow, but trust me on this one…

Get yourself out of the house, or at least involved in something you like. Treat youself to activities that you normally love…just try to do stuff to occupy your mind. This may seem really hard, but you will feel better if you can “distract yourself” As you become more active, your appetite should increase as well. At least you’re on here, trying to make contact with people-that is very important! Several times since I joined Fluther, I found that the concern and feedback of people on here have lifted my spirits!

Hang in there-we’re here for you.

I think you should talk to your doctor as soon as you can, in the meantime keep occupied, take a walk or something like that, exercise is good for depression. So is sunlight, cod liver oil, talking to friends and family and not staying in bed.

Welcome to Fluther. It’s a great site to help you up when you’re feeling down. What you’re feeling is more than down. What I advise is not easy to do, but physical activity seems to help. A lot of depression is displaced anger, so activity that gets rid of anger also helps depression. Don’t just walk, walk angrily. Knead bread dough, angrily. Play basketball with anger. Get in the shower and yell. Pound your fist into a pillow. (I was going to say, pound your head into a wall, but don’t do that. You might hurt the wall.) (Oh, or your head.) Then come back and read stuff here. It’s quite interesting and there’s something for everybody.

@EtherRoom I second the suggestion ot talk to your doctor. There may be physical causes for your lack of energy and appetite. Even if it is depression, medical intervention may be helpful.

If you can’t really get off your couch or bed, or even get some food, this sounds pretty serious to me. Get to a doctor immediately. Better yet, see a psychiatrist. A good psychiatrist can find the right meds that will help you start to see some light in the world. Right now you’re so deep underwater, you probably don’t even know which way is up.

There are a lot of things you can do on your own that should help, but I don’t know if you can do them from where you are at now. Exercise helps. Eating right and regularly helps. Sleeping regularly for enough time helps (not just hanging out on the couch, but actual sleeping). Hang out with friends. Do anything that will get you out of the house.

If you can get out of the house, and have the energy to do this, find a way to volunteer to help others. That gives you a sense of purpose and something of a feeling like you do matter.

Get therapy. Mindfulness therapy can be very helpful for dealing with the bad feelings you probably have about yourself. It teaches you how to cope with those feelings. You can’t stop them, but you don’t have to let them get you.

Do you live alone? If you have family or friends who are understanding, they can really help a lot—getting you to appointments or work or to take your meds when you have a prescription.

There are don’ts too. A lot of people drink or smoke or use drugs as a way to cope with depression. It is important to get off the self-medications, and onto more effective ones that have side effects that are not as bad. Like addiction.

It is very hard to deal with depression. It almost killed me. That was three years ago. I feel much better now. I did a lot of the things I suggested, although I still have some bad habits. One other thing that helps, and that made a big difference to me, was love. My wife, it turned out, actually loved me, although I was convinced otherwise. In addition, others loved me. Who knew? It was a big help. A big help.

Good luck!

Snap out of it.

Edited because of my guilt:
Sorry. But, seriously. Eat. Play. Run.
Do something. It’ll help.

@jellyfish3232 I don’t think you could offer worse advice than “snap out of it.” Anyone who has ever been depressed—clinically depressed, knows that is impossible. In fact, it makes it worse. The person feels guilty they can’t snap out of it, because they feel they should, and then they get more depressed.

Do us all a favor, and never say that again to someone who is depressed, not even as a joke. Unless, of course, you’re trying to drive someone to suicide.

You should see a doctor. it sounds a if you might be depressed. If so, you need medication.

Life does not have to be like it feels right now.

@EtherRoom It’ll be the last thing in the world you’ll want to do (I understand as I’ve been in similar situations before) but force yourself to get out for a walk. Even if it’s just for 10 minutes, it will help. There are most definitely natural things you can do to give yourself more energy.

@wundayatta

Sorry. I usually end up saying something stupid.
I’m not very people-smart.

It has already been said but I want to reiterate it, go and see your doctor. They can help. While getting out and getting some fresh air and all those things may very well help, you need to speak to a professional and get some real help right now. I hope you feel stronger soon and as has again been said, keep talking to us here. The vast majority of people here are open-minded, kind and caring and great listeners (to text of course :-) ). See your doctor!

@jellyfish3232 You meant no harm, so don’t worry about it. It’s actually something an awful lot of people say. Mostly they have no clue what depression is really like, but it is truly one of the most unhelpful comments on earth. My parents say it a lot. Unfortunately, so do a lot of other people I know. If comes in many codes, too.

People think that if they sympathize with someone who is depressed, that they will milk it for all it’s worth. The instant you experience that kind of depression, you’ll know that no one wants to milk it for anything. They just want to get the hell out of it. The problem is that often they don’t see how it is possible to get out of it. That’s why many people kill themselves. They see death as the only way to end the ever-lasting hell they are in.

Frankly, I don’‘t like thinking about it, because merely thinking about it can start to draw me down, and I’ve worked too damn hard to get out and stay out. That includes taking my meds, going to therapy, going to my support group, exercising, sleeping and all the rest. There was a time when I could not imagine how it could be possible for me to ever get out of depression. I couldn’t work to save myself then. What would be the point? In any case, I didn’t have any energy to do it.

The meds saved me. They did 90% of the heavy lifting. Friends and lovers gave me another 7% and I think I contributed 3%. That 3% was heroic, too. It may not sound like much, but it was my life, to me. The meds were very helpful, and I am so grateful for them. I am even more grateful to friends and my wife and my kids. They all made it possible for me to do my little bit to save myself.

If you do not eat, you will die. Bad way to go, especially if you have a choice. Why would you choose to starve if you do not have to?

Absolutely see a doctor. I would start with a medical doctor, and not a psychologist right away. It is likely to be a chemical imbalance that a psychologist can treat, but it isn’t always. It could be an environmental factor such as black mold in your house, or you could be sick. While it’s most likely from your description that you have depression in one of its various nasty forms, it’s best to cover all basis, and your doctor can recommend a good psychiatric professional to you.

@wundayatta
That’s what I like about fluther. There is forgiveness, even when I screw up.
I once made a far less severe mistake on deviantART, and I was treated like a criminal…

@josie – I just don’t feel hungry. At all. Even when i eat, I feel like it’s too much and I regret it. I didn’t eat for the whole day, and i ate a small sandwich and I felt guilty for that. I’m just not hungry. Even if my stomach growls, i don’t feel the need to eat, but i feel like i’m dying on the inside too.

@josie – I don’t feel hungry. I don’t want to starve, I wanted to go on here to see if other people have the same issue. I felt too lazy to even make food, i would rather sleep in bed all day, not eat, just to go use the bathroom, and that was it.

@Mz_Lizzy Thank you.

@stardust I will do that

Yes, I have felt that exact same way. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that loss of appetite is not natural, and you need to see your doctor quickly.

I got out of it by taking medication, exercising, and talking to a therapist.

Best of luck to you and welcome to Fluther.