[Aaron_94]

Hello everyone, I am new here. I have been having a difficult time lately, and thought that I would try something new to help myself. I'll try to keep this short, but here is what is going on.

Myself (20) and my fiance (21) are currently finishing up with our final semester of college. She is doing her internship at a local SPCA, and I am taking the last of my required classes, and working part time as a Chemistry and Biology tutor at my colleges academic assistance center. For the past 5 years or so, I have always struggled a little bit with depression, but it always came in infrequent short bursts, only lasting a few hours to a day. In other words, it was very minor and manageable because of how quickly it would pass. However, for the past week or so I have been feeling really down, and this time it is not going away, it is lingering.

I find myself having frequent feelings of helplessness (of what I have no idea) and of being lost. I find that most times I am focusing on negative things such as the future, and what is going to happen. The few people that I have talked to about it have told me that I just need to let it go, focus on the present, and distract myself, but that is a lot easier said than done.

Lately I have realized that I have lost interest in many of my hobbies, finding it hard to do the things that I once found pleasurable. I have also noticed a drastic drop in my desire for sex. Being a young male, I have always had a relatively high sex drive, so having it drop of almost completely is kind of a shock.

I guess the main thing is that I am just scared. Normally these feelings are short lived, but having them last for a week straight is frightening. Last night was probably the best that I've had in a week. My fiance and I caught up on some of our favorite shows, and watched a movie. I felt normal and it was great. However, when I woke up this morning, all of the negativity was back and I felt like garbage again. Today definitely isn't the worst that I have felt, but I definitely don't feel normal. Does this sound like something that is normal for me to feel at this point in my life, or should I seek professional help? Thank you to all that took the time to read this, I really appreciate it.

A little more information that might be helpful:

My fiance and I moved to the town where we attend college about 3 years ago after we graduated high school. We are looking to move back to our hometown once we both graduate in May.

My fiance and I have been together for 4 years, and have a really good relationship. I would appreciate it if anyone who responds to this does not automatically jump to it being a relationship problem. I know we are both very young, but we have an extremely loving and caring relationship. We have our issues like any other couple, but nothing major, just silly couple stuff.

I have struggled with anxiety and worrying for as long as I can remember, but like the episodes of depression, it is always short lived and infrequent.

[gayleggg]

I would consult a doctor. It will be easier to treat by catching it early. No sense in taking a chance of it getting worse. Talk to your doctor. He might be able to prescribe something to boost you out of this spell. It sounds like it might be induced by stress, so working on alleviating your stress might help as well. You might want to check out your options with the university as most have counselors available.

[vital]

Hi Aaron,

I've noticed that a lot of people get into trouble during major transitions like finishing college when there's lot's of uncertainty about your life.

Here's my personal view of the best plan, including checking for medical/nutritional issues as the first step

http://forums.psychcentral.com/4262681-post105.html

- vital