iostefini

I find balancing days of going out with days of staying home is really important. I manage by choosing my battles and pushing to go out on days I feel stronger. It's still an effort but it's not disastrous like it would be on the bad days.

I also have to be careful not to do too much at once. Like, going clubbing with a giant group of friends is probably not something I can do, nor would want to do. Meeting a friend for coffee is much more manageable and enjoyable for me. Of course, some days even coffee is too much, and on those days I get my husband (if you're not in a relationship you could invite a close friend over) to come and hang out with me while I stay home and avoid the world.

I think the important part is NOT to avoid absolutely everything, because that definitely makes it harder. Taking a break where you only speak to the closest friends is fine, because breaks are short and only last a day or two. :) You can go back to being "social" after that.

They sound like typical symptoms of depression or anxiety, but the best way to know is to speak to a professional about it because they can also be symptoms of several other things and the only way to know for sure is for a professional to ask you more questions and evaluate based on your responses.

If you're having trouble motivating yourself to go maybe you could get a friend to pick you up and take you for the first appointment?

[deleted]

Thanks, I'll suggest it to him :)