YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

Hi, my name is Morgan and I am a 25 year old male. I've been depressed for a long time and have also had anxiety. About a year ago I started to do some serious research about what was wrong with me. Then I finally went to see a Psychologist and Psychiatrist where I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymia, OCD and Schizoid Personality Disorder. Before this I was anxious and had ruminating thoughts all the time. I had no energy, daily thoughts of suicide, no motivation and no interest in anything. Now that I am on medication, things are a little better, but the hardest thing now is the anhedonia from the Schizoid Personality Disorder. The future seems hopeless since there is no enjoyment to look forward to. One of the hardest things is that I feel I have nobody to understand what I'm going through since I've never met anyone with this list of problems. Therapy hasn't been working so far since talking about my feelings isn't really an option because I think that I don't really have any feelings or at least a very narrow spectrum of emotions. Thoughts?

Welcome to the forum, HollowMan.

With regards to diagnoses names, remember that the diagnoses should work for you, and not against you. I remember Marc Maron saying he stopped worrying about diagnoses and just thought about his problems as a combination of depression and anxiety. Don't let the labels define you.

I think about where I am right now as a combination of depression and anxiety, plus the mental distortions caused by depression and anxiety. Then I work on the one that seems to be easiest to work on in the moment.

Please take care, all the best, cheers, we here are cheering for you, HollowMan, and for your greatest today and tomorrow.