New to 7 Cups and Happy to Meet You All :)

Hi everyone! My name is Jenn. I've been living with depression and anxiety since the mid-2000s, and the severity of my symptoms has waxed and waned over the years. Recently, I've been struggling the most with loneliness and the pressure of growing older but not feeling like I'm moving forward.

I'm quite introverted, so I often don't mind being alone, but I sometimes feel totally cut off from other people. I have very few people to talk to when I need or want to, and I'm afraid the longer I stay disconnected from others, the harder it's becoming for me to make the connections I want to make.

I also just had a birthday, and since then, I've been feeling especially down about the state of my life. Like time is passing so quickly and I have nothing to show for it. I have an ok job in a field that I love, but I don't make enough money to live independently. I'm living at home after having tried to move away several times-- I don't want to spend the rest of my life in my hometown, but I just keep coming back because being away from the small support circle I have here has just been too hard and, as I previously mentioned, I have a lot of trouble making new friends. I feel like I'm failing but I don't know how to move forward in a way that will actually work out.

I'm excited to be here as I've tried traditional therapy in the past with little success. I just haven't been able to find a therapist that I can connect with, and living in a small town, my options are pretty limited, so I signed up for 7 Cups with the hopes that I could find others (not necessarily professional therapists, of course) I might click with. Looking forward to sharing thoughts and feelings with you all, and helping each other progress!