r/Glasgow Tools

I second the suggestions about going to the GP. Look into doing that *tomorrow and as soon as they open*. The longer you are feeling like this, the harder it can be to get out of it (trust me).

Your GP is very likely to suggest that you refer yourself to your local PCMHT for cognitive behavioural therapy, and if they don't then this should be something to ask for because it's the first step to receiving treatment for depression on the NHS. I've had CBT for a number of things (insomnia, depression, and lack of self worth/esteem) and while I didn't find it to be the panacea others make it out to be, it can certainly help.

I'm bringing this up because your first sentence in this last comment about the walking club is a great example of how you can start working towards feeling better: you said "... i really struggle to talk to people in person at this point", which is an example of negative self belief, is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and is very unlikely to actually be realistic on balance. A way of reframing your thought process here into something that might be a bit more helpful could be "I might struggle to talk to people in a walking club." This reframing incorporates your current concerns while also acknowledging a few other things for balance. It:

Allows for the possibility that the opposite could be true.

Allows for an explanation that doesn't cast you as the failure point. Perhaps you just have nothing in common with the walkers in that club?

Allows you to acknowledge that this experience, whether it works out or not, will be specific to this one attempt to meet people, and does not represent a global truth ("...in a walking club", i.e., not absolute/true for everyone you meet).