What is this? Why do I feel empty and lack an interest?

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Ergop
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23 Apr 2011, 7:08 pm

I've always had changing interests/obsessions over the years, but right now I have nothing.
Nothing seems to spark my interest, and everything seems like a waste of time. Nothing is bringing me joy, and I just feel uneasy. I don't feel full of sadness, but rather void of all emotion. Is that what depression is? I want something to matter to me. I wish I could feel something, even if it were anger.

My info:
I'm a 21 girl whose finishing trade college in 6 months, living stably at home, no friends but a boyfriend, generally healthy but my hormones are off (maybe causing mood disturbances?) and no health insurance (can't afford it).

Maybe it's my hormones, maybe it's my childhood, maybe it's my Aspergers, maybe it's just me...
I'd like to know if this is normal or if something sounds wrong and I could perhaps fix whatever's wrong with me. Thanks guys.



jedaustin
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23 Apr 2011, 7:15 pm

I think it is normal; I've gone through such phases myself.
Part of it was that I felt particularly unaccepted by everyone and had not yet embraced who I am as a gift rather than a curse. I don't know if that fits you or not but it was the driver for me when i felt like that. Since I didn't seem to matter much to anyone I really didn't care about anything. In any case if you just sit and relax, think about your life, and everything you'll figure out what the root cause of it is. It's probably time for a new interest.. one that helps other people and helps you to embrace who you are.



SammichEater
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23 Apr 2011, 8:36 pm

I've felt like that before. 6 months after I had saved up enough money to buy my first computer, the motherboard had died on me. It took 3 full months for the manufacturer to repair it, in that time there was a huge void in my life. I had just started to become obsessed with it when it stopped working. I was forced to do things that I didn't really enjoy for entertainment; I just wanted my computer back so I could play games on it.

It's really sad to think that so much of my life revolves around technology, but that's the truth. Something was taken away from me, and there was nothing to replace it. Living for 3 months without any sort of special interest was hell for me. Maybe hell isn't the right word. It wasn't hell so much as my life had very little meaning at all. I didn't really care about anything at that time.


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joestenr
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23 Apr 2011, 10:15 pm

That sounds about like the last several months of my life, in the past there have been soooooo many. I have a basement filled with now empty fishtanks (my syngnathie ie seahorses pipefish period (must resist urge to go off on tangent about seahorses)
Next to mountains of partually dissasembled computers along with boxes of various
Modified keyboard chips (its a button or toggle interface add creat ur switch ) rrrrr i cant help it.

So anyway i was bored/ depressed. I think it comes down to us needing to have that thing that raison d' etre. Withoout it its like why even get out of bed?
So your not the only one who gets that feeling

Good luck.



Apple_in_my_Eye
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24 Apr 2011, 12:16 am

Well, that sucks. I've had years-long spells of that, and don't have any answers, unfortunately. There's always dysthymia/anhedonia as a possibility. When I lost a lot of the cognitive ability that was required for most of my hobbies it made sense that I lost interest in those. But that's a pretty rare/weird thing to have happen.

It just could always be a short-lived, natural lull. I read somewhere recently that people on the spectrum tend to have trouble recognizing their own emotions (alexithymia), which probably makes figuring things like this out harder.



CockneyRebel
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24 Apr 2011, 12:11 pm

There was one year that I went without a special interest. Most of 2005. It was sheer hell.

One thing that you can do is talk to your family doctor and tell him or her everything that you told us in your opening post.

You can also come to us and post about any problems that you have here on WP or send one of us a PM about the things that you're going through. For the most part, we're a very supportive bunch.

I hope that you're feeling better about things, soon.


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Guilliman
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25 Apr 2011, 6:52 am

I seem to have that too, but in phases, comes and goes every once and a while.



TenPencePiece
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25 Apr 2011, 7:16 am

I experienced similar not too long ago. It ended after a while, but it's not a great place to be whilst it's going on.


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hyperlexian
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25 Apr 2011, 1:17 pm

i agree with CockneyRebel that maybe your doctor should hear how you have been feeling/not feeling. he or she would know if you are suffering from clinical depression or just minor doldrums. loss of interest in favourite activities is a symptom, but it is only a single one of a list. the feeling of lack of emotions could be another symptom too.

it sounds like you have some big changes in the near future in terms of school, and with hormonal issues going on too, it could be creating a situation that is causing you to withdraw inside yourself, to place where there is less emotion of all types.

i think going to a doctor or other mental health professional would be a good step.


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