Anonymous wrote:Lost my job, and I'm having trouble getting up in the morning. No money = nothing to do. I did 10 sessions with a therapist and he said I'm not depressed. And I don't FEEL depressed. I just see no joy in cleaning the house and doing laundry all day. Does it get better?

That is entirely up to you.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, you guys like pushing pills. Is it that hard to accept you trashed the entire country? You have to act like I'm the problem for losing almost everything? Newsflash: mourning is not depression. It's not even adjustment disorder. It's a crappy life. I'm trying to imagine who's satisfied sitting at home, never making a difference. How they handle it? Because there must be more than yoga and naps and novels.

And yes, I did apply for a few fast food and retail jobs. They are flush with applications here because of the high unemployment. Didn't look at me twice when I showed up for an interview (got two, after lying on the applications).

“You guys”? Geez OP, you’ve gotten a lot of responses from people who are genuinely trying to help, but that seems lost on you and you’re only seeing the negative.

What I hear you saying is that there is literally nothing that will help, nothing to improve your emotional state except working, which isn’t a possibility because there are no jobs. You devalue anything else you might contribute at home or through volunteer work. You’ve tried everything, thought of everything...and nothing helps. This is why there is some consensus that you sound depressed. It has nothing to do with pushing pills - many of these posters have BTDT and have greatly benefitted from therapy.

I think some CBT to broaden or reframe your thinking might be helpful. It sounds like there is a lack of flexibility in your idea of what can have value, or be meaningful. That’s not to discount the very real and horrible stressors you’re enduring, but you’re asking how to better cope with difficult circumstances in which you feel trapped. So yes, maybe a different therapist isn’t a bad recommendation.

I’m out of work now, too and spend a lot of time updating my job skills with YouTube videos and attending free seminars (some of which give me CEUs). Maybe that sounds ridiculous, but it helps.

Anonymous wrote:You can get a card online and then check out ebooks and audiobooks online, see https://www.dclibrary.org/getacard . Listen to audiobooks while taking long walks in the sunshine.

This! You can get a card to all the DMV libraries, I have 8 cards!

Warning: Pity Party.

I agree. Life sucks. There is no point. We live in a terrible world that keeps getting worse.

Kids right now are at home getting no real education. The next generation will be uneducated, have no social skills and be overweight (with al the health problems that go with it.)

I feel sorry for my kid. I feel sorry for every kid. I feel sorry for the young adults with student loan debt who can’t get jobs that actually pay off that debt.

I read the news and see the lines at food banks. I see the West burning and people’s homes in ashes.

It is hard to feel like you are doing nothing when you see all the problems around you.

I don’t know what to tell you. The world is, indeed, a horrid place now. It makes me sad too.

Cough = couch ^^^

Op, if you’re not a troll, it sounds like you’ve had to roll the boulder up the mountain too many times. It sucks, and the thought of rolling up again when you know it will roll down again is exhausting. All the well meaning suggestions sound more depressing. Have you considered packing up, however meager, and starting over somewhere else? Maybe you know someone out of town who’d let you cough surf for a bit. This is how almost everyone one of my friends and acquaintances (with degrees) landed up in California, most with very good jobs. Harder in pandemic probably.

Masturbate, explore sexually, be naughty with your spouse. Create a new world for the two of you, fantasize.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a midlife crisis.

You are super negative, and have shot down every response.

So go have an affair. Your neighbor might be your soulmate.

Or

Go rent a convertible, grab a friend and drive off a cliff.

Yeah "take antidepressants" is fantastic advice.

That wasn’t my advice. Have an affair. Make life worth living again.

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a midlife crisis.

You are super negative, and have shot down every response.

So go have an affair. Your neighbor might be your soulmate.

Or

Go rent a convertible, grab a friend and drive off a cliff.

Yeah "take antidepressants" is fantastic advice.

Sounds like a midlife crisis.

You are super negative, and have shot down every response.

So go have an affair. Your neighbor might be your soulmate.

Or

Go rent a convertible, grab a friend and drive off a cliff.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get an antidepressant from your GP. You sound depressed.

Call the women’s center for counseling—job or otherwise. It’s on a sliding scale.

Not depressed. I just don't see the point in sitting at home all day, depending on someone else.

You sound like a typical DCUM SAHM!

Send out resumes? Go to employment agencies?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, you guys like pushing pills. Is it that hard to accept you trashed the entire country? You have to act like I'm the problem for losing almost everything? Newsflash: mourning is not depression. It's not even adjustment disorder. It's a crappy life. I'm trying to imagine who's satisfied sitting at home, never making a difference. How they handle it? Because there must be more than yoga and naps and novels.

And yes, I did apply for a few fast food and retail jobs. They are flush with applications here because of the high unemployment. Didn't look at me twice when I showed up for an interview (got two, after lying on the applications).

Construction trades are hurting for employees. I know because I work for them. They are also looking for women. Did you ever think about learning how to weld? Or operating heavy equipment? Legitimate work, good pay and benefits.

Funny story. I can weld, actually, thanks to a summer job in college, and I kept the skills by doing sculpture. I'm no good, and I don't do it much anymore, but I can. Anyway, when I was very motivated early on, I applied at a local tooling place, but when I went in to interview, I heard them laughing about my education. Slipped out and avoided their call. It was pretty discouraging.

Anonymous wrote:Wow, you guys like pushing pills. Is it that hard to accept you trashed the entire country? You have to act like I'm the problem for losing almost everything? Newsflash: mourning is not depression. It's not even adjustment disorder. It's a crappy life. I'm trying to imagine who's satisfied sitting at home, never making a difference. How they handle it? Because there must be more than yoga and naps and novels.

And yes, I did apply for a few fast food and retail jobs. They are flush with applications here because of the high unemployment. Didn't look at me twice when I showed up for an interview (got two, after lying on the applications).

Construction trades are hurting for employees. I know because I work for them. They are also looking for women. Did you ever think about learning how to weld? Or operating heavy equipment? Legitimate work, good pay and benefits.