Need some life advice

The only profession i could think of is a psychiatrist but you have already tried that it seems. But the thing that helped me was just starting to talk with people and use that as an motivation to get through the day.

I was in your shoes once OP. For me it was necessity what brought me out of that lifestyle OP. It was either work 70 hour weeks or be homeless. It worked out because all my reasons to be depressed shifted to a new reason- my hate for my job and my dreams of an easier life. Find a better paying job, go to school, meet new people, get dissapointed with normies, try again, rinse and repeat OP. Life is one rollercoaster with bad and good years, might as well find ways to be comfortable in the ride.

The following are just some ideas falling out of my head. Maybe good, maybe bad, but it's up to you in the end.

Sometimes you just need to bust your ass and do something. Go out and interact with other people face to face. Even if it's not as fun or interesting as staying in. Even if nothing really comes out of it. Make it your mission to go out at least once a week, or twice a week. Take a class, join a club, even if you're not passionate about it. I'm not gonna tell you staying in is bad for you or that you need to have some kind of social life or any kind of bullshit like that. But if you want change, if you want stimulation the easiest way is to interact with other people, in person.

Some people move themselves because they can't stand to be complacent or inert. That type of life doesn't sit well with them and they probably feel like it really prevents them from experiencing what life has to offer. That probably isn't you and maybe it won't be you in the future but I think it's safe to say that such a person won't feel stuck the same way you are now. What I'm trying to say is that you don't have to be like them but you can still learn from them. And lastly it won't help if you don't move yourself because you'll very easily fall back into your normal routine.

Don't get distracted, don't put it off. Go ahead and be impulsive about it. Decide on something to do within 5 minutes and commit. And even if you don't end up caring, just say fuck it and decide on something just as impulsively tomorrow. Go ahead and tell yourself YOLO (sorry) and do something stupid or embarrassing. If you do that every week for a year and you're still stuck the way you are now then you can go ahead and cut my balls off for wasting your time.

I've been in OP's position, but I just took up drinking, mostly because of high anxiety, although I wouldn't recommend it. I am currently cutting back because the cocktail of medication I'm on doesn't get absorbed into my system very well when I drink, and makes them not work as well, and maybe if I cut back I'll start feeling a bit better. Also, on the plus side, I'll lose weight since I was drinking like 12 beers in one sitting 1-2 times a week, and eating shit food. I recently started eating fruit, and adding lean proteins into my diet and I'm actually feeling alright 2 days in.

As others have mentioned, going out, enrolling yourself on a course or joining a club helps and you may even meet new people (you may meet a few assholes, but hey, what you gonna do?). If you can't maintain focus on something for much time, try encouraging a few friends to join you, or find one that already does something you might think it's nice and go together, each other's interest could help one another. I guess traveling somewhere could help too, see the world and all that, but one needs time and I know it isn't cheap, so that may be out of the question.

Those are just medium/big things you could try. Some smaller things to consider, and these can be done everyday, would be eating at that restaurant that for some reason you've never been to, or taking a different route to go to work, or cooking something different, from an exotic dinner to simply switching brands of frozen nuggets. When weekend arrives, see if someone wants to see a movie or something, hang out with friends, or go for a slow walk around the block, notice the trees, birds and the overturned dumpsters in your city.

I can say that some of that worked for me, as I too was/am having some difficulty enjoying life. Setting long term goals helped as well, since, among other things, I am finishing a college course on a subject I dislike and can't stand work related to that, but I will try getting a masters degree and slowly shift the focus to something I enjoy more. I tried drinking too, getting slightly buzzed before sleep helped a little, buuuut I wouldn't recommend it either, though I went to a party and got drunk for the first time in years... I guess I needed the experience (try more things, but don't self destruct, that's my point).

As for another profession, I'm sorry, but I also can only think of a psychologist or a psychiatrist. Sorry to hear that it wasn't effective for you, I saw a psychologist years ago (for a different reason) for some time and that helped me. Remember that I only can say what works and doesn't work for me, and I confess I didn't try a couple of the things mentioned here, so take what I say, if you still need advice from this thread, with a grain of salt. Anyway, finding joy in life is something, I think, that needs to be done rather constantly, it's a bit of a lifelong struggle and yeah, I'm scared too.

I think people have already given alot of great advice, but my 3 cents is this:

1. If you want to talk with a professional, try another therapist. There are good and bad ones out there. I know it sucks when you just want help, and it can be daunting to take that first step, but do some googling on how to identify a good therapist, or rather, a therapist that would be good for you. Everyone is different.
2. Consider looking for things you can volunteer for, maybe on your off days. I volunteer at a place that packages up food to send to food shelves. I meet people and can interact at my own pace. Sometimes I am chatty, sometimes not. Find something that you feel is a good cause.
3. This is the easiest and I hope most useful. Get more sleep. If you are staying up until 1-2 everynight and getting up at 8 for a 9am shift, you are getting between 6-7 hours of sleep. I know everyone is different, but there is research out there about what long term sleep deprivation can do you someone (ya, even shorting an hour or two). For my experience, sleep is a big factor in feeling 'normal'.

Take care of yourself and good luck!