My girlfriend for 4 years has been battling depression and anxiety ever since she originally left for college 4 years ago.
There have been ups and downs, but she is radically better than she used to be.
Other than finding a great support network between friends, family, and loved ones, I honestly think that finding a good psychiatrist is one of the best things that you can do. My girlfriend has learned so many things about herself and about the reasons behind her anxiety and depression just by going once every week or two. If your insurance will cover this, I honestly feel like this is one of the best roads to take. You can’t get better until you can find the root of the problem, or at least get closer to it.
My girlfriend ended up changing schools, changing her major to something she felt passionate about, and she graduated on time from school a few weeks ago.
Like what Duendes said, find something you love to do and see if you can incorporate that into your future goals. My girlfriend ended up majoring in musical theater and received her elementary education degree, hoping to teach K-5. You love guitar? Try taking some music courses; perhaps look into the teaching cert’s needed in your state. It’s never too late to go to school; in a world like ours, there is an increasing demand for employees with degrees.
My older brother has been going through depression recently due to complications with his health, and I think he realized the first thing he needed to do after recognizing his depression was to seek a psychiatrist that could relate to him and he could be open with; I honestly thing this is one of the most helpful things someone can do.
If you need anything, LMK. I’ve witnessed how hard it can be to go through something like this.
PS. Don’t listen to a Dr. that tells you early on to go to a mental hospital; If anything, a place like that is more scarring than helpful for a disease like this. I’d suggest finding a Dr. that doesn’t want to push you off on someone else. Like I said, find someone that can relate to you and you feel at least SOMEWHAT comfortable with; you’ll learn to trust them and open up a lot more.