Ask HN: I am lost in life. How do I fix this?
All the things you mention in your post have resonated with me for all my life, and during a 6-month long sabbatical due to burnout, my motivation had tanked even further and I felt I was constantly seeking rewards, and &quot;dopamine spikes&quot;. I had no energy for anything whatsoever. The worst days I felt like a zombie moving from one pleasure to another. I came to understand that having responsibilities and pressure dragged me along and made me a productive and even successful member of society, but by myself I was completely lost with no direction nor energy, on a downward spiral.<p>Thankfully at the time I was seeing a therapist, she suggested I might have untreated ADHD, got diagnosed and my life _literally_ changed over the next 2 months. I&#x27;ve recently told my therapist I&#x27;m pretty sure my life long depression is in remission.<p>--<p>Do you feel there&#x27;s an infinite abyss inside of you that needs more and more stimulation yet nothing seems to satisfy it? Do you feel that focus and motivation is totally outside your control? Do you wake up every morning, unsure if today is going to be a good productive day or with no energy to do anything except ingest food&#x2F;porn&#x2F;video games&#x2F;social media? Do you feel that you &quot;just need to try harder&quot; even though it&#x27;s been decades of managing a debilitating mood disturbance?<p>If all of that resonates with you, consider getting an ADHD diagnosis. If it is, know that mainstream ADHD treatment is _extremely_ effective.