Am I depressed

[DonAli]

Hi for years now I’ve suspected I’ve got adhd and depression. I get anxious all the time and a lot of the time for no reason. Currently been anxious and on edge all day for no reason I can tell. I get this really sinking feeling in my chest and body and as thought all energy has been taken from me and I feel close to tears all the time. My fiancé died almost 10 years ago and it’s been on and off. More off than on when the kids were younger but now it feels more often. I hate going to the doctors. I feel like I should go to see if I have depression/anxiety. I do think like I have adhd and a friend who is studying in this field also agrees (she spoke to me about it without me telling her I thought I had it) but I feel like I could get it under control. I am afraid to go to the doctors. I get very anxious in situations like that and I really hate telling ppl I’m ill/having problems etc. I makes me go into a bit of a panic. I don’t know why. What can I do? Does anyone else feel the same?

There’s a depression test on line. Why not take it

It sounds like something is going on so get some support if you can x

Really, don't do that. Your doctor is always your first port of call; if you don't know what to say show him your post.

The hardest part of getting help is asking for it.

My DH refused to believe his problem was MH. Doing the on line test, where he scored high, convinced him that he had a problem and so he went and got the help he needed.

My sympathies OP - I suffer with anxiety & depression & also recently diagnosed ADHD. But one thing that has had a major impact on my mental & physical health is peri & menopause. I don't know how old you are but it might be worth getting your hormone levels checked. GP's won't usually test before prescribing HRT & you may not have any obvious meno symptoms like hot flushes (I didn't). But perimenopause can cause wildly fluctuating estrogen levels & low estrogen caused horrific anxiety in me (& is known to). I went through peri & it insidiously crept up on me so that I assumed it was my Anxiety & Depression & not my hormones. I couldn't get onto HRT until being in menopause & I so wish I could have got onto it earlier during Perimenopause as it would have saved me from so much angst & misery.

I def think you should investigate your hormones (either privately if affordable or with your GP) & a trial of HRT to see if it has any impact on your anxiety & low mood. HRT is natural & causes no withdrawal difficulties (unlike Antidepressants). Peri & menopausal women should be trialled on HRT before being given Antidepressants which GP's are very prone to do (& try to give you instead of HRT). Apologies if this isn't relevant & you're nowhere near perimenopause in age terms - but it can start earlier in your 40's. Just from my experience of poor MH over the years HRT has been literally life changing.
If you look up more perimenopause symptoms on Louise Newson or Menopause Matters - you can list them to your GP & say you wonder if the anxiety parts are hormonally driven (you could ham up things like hot flushes as GP's still seem only capable of believing you may be perimenopausal if they believe your having these) & that you want to trial HRT. Obvs forgive me if you can't take HRT medically &/or you've had a hysterectomy or something that affects your hormones.

If you feel you may have ADHD I'd encourage you to ask your GP for a referral to be assessed. You can choose an ADHD provider under the NHS (or your GP may have a specific pathway). It unlocked for me a much needed understanding of & validation of myself that has had a real impact on my self-esteem & the way I view myself.
Good Luck