I feel down and lost

Hi @Ant7 and welcome to the forum.

Good on you for reaching out here in your difficult time. This is a good place to turn to in the first instance as many of us have experienced down feelings and can relate. It sounds like you are concerned about these feelings becoming more of an issue for you than they have been before. I wonder if you have a regular GP you could speak of these things with. That's often a good first step to getting some professional support. Even if you decide not to take up any treatment options suggested to you, it's always good to have a regular GP who you can talk about physical and mental health concerns. This is especially the case if these down feelings have been or are becoming more troublesome to you over time.

Regardless of whether you follow up on the GP suggestion, keep talking here and others will likely have suggestions too. Wishing you well.

@Ant7, since you have had struggles with these feelings before, I would suggest for the long term trying to find a doctor you can always see. I used to chop and change with doctors for a long time but have now been seeing my current GP for nine years. She has helped me in ways that doctors I only saw once or twice never could, and this has significantly improved my life.

Have you talked to anyone else in your real life about your current feelings? Is there anybody else you trust enough to speak about these things with? As I suggested earlier, even if you feel unable to speak to others about these feelings right now, this forum is a great resource for many of us. It offers a place where we can speak about our issues in anonymity and in a supportive environment.

Maybe you could share a little more detail about your life. Are you working at present? Any interests? Friends in the real world? These are the kinds of things that may help us with giving responses that could be of use to you.

@Ant7, great that you have your wife as companion and kind of you to think of sparing her your current problem, given that she has a lot going on. If she's anything like me and many other women I know, I suspect she may sense that something is not quite right with you. It's worth considering whether it would be best to be open about what you are going through with her. She is your life partner after all and could even be wondering about what's going on with you anyway.

Great that you are still able to function with your job. Do you like your work? I know that shift work can sometimes mess with moods. Do you think this could have any part in how you are currently feeling?

I really understand problems with motivation as many basic things are a struggle for me with my bipolar. But I know that engaging with my interests even if my motivation is not high often does lift me out of depression to some extent. Surfing and mountain biking and hiking sound especially good for releasing those endorphins that help so much with down feelings. I'd really encourage you to try as hard as you can to keep up with these things.

@Ant7, I'm heading back towards bed again very soon. But just wanted to say it's good to meet you and I hope you will stick around the forums and get to know some others here. Sometimes just being able to write out how we are feeling here is helpful in itself. Then, responses you may get can help with feeling less alone with down feelings. Take care and hope to catch up with you here again.