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I am 23 and I have strong reasons to believe I have fallen into an existential depression, due to some recent events in my life. I am going to see the doctor on friday so I can make the insurance pay for a psychiatrist but I'd like to know if anybody on this forum has dealt with this issue before and how did it go? Any tips on what to look for in a psychiatrist that's gonna be able to convince me that life isn't pointless and loveless? Yay or nay on medication (I'm especially scared of the cutoff from them which I heard can be quite rough).

Any tips/ pointers/ help would be appreciated.
PS: sorry if I made mistakes english is not my first language

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear that you are struggling right now.

Medication is very much an individual decision between you and your healthcare providers. For some, it can be a key aspect of their long-term treatment plan. For others, it is a stepping stone to making coping skill acquisition more accessible, and may be used temporarily. For still others, it is unnecessary or, in rare cases, damaging even when used judiciously. With regard to stepping down from medication: for most psychoactive medications, responsible prescribers will gradually taper the dosage down to nothing, rather than taking you off cold turkey.

With regard to talk therapy, most likely you will be looking not for a psychiatrist (although they often have this training, it is highly unlikely that insurance will pay for one), but more likely a psychologist, clinical social worker, or licensed mental health counselor, professional counselor, etc. (there are different titles in different states), which is (other than the psychologist, who is at the doctoral level) typically a master's level clinician.

Evidence-based talk therapies for depression generally circle back to skills-based treatments that are some variation of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), or related therapies (e.g., DBT, RET). All of them acknowledge the interactions between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and leverage that connection to affect feelings by correcting cognitive distortions, and making healthier choices with our behaviors.

All the best. Others have grappled with this and come to solutions that treasure and celebrate lives, yours included.

I was on various medications for depression for many years, and with a lot of work on myself, I am now medication-free. (For my mental health, anyway. I take all too many for physical ailments.) I just wanted to let you know it can be done.

When you talk to a psychiatrist about medication, talk up-front about how getting off of the medication will work. When you are ready to try going off, do it in consultation with a psychiatrist. My GP, who was not knowledgeable about the drug I was taking, made my withdrawal process much worse than it needed to be. If the first therapist you talk to doesn't "click" with you, try another one instead of giving up on the whole idea.

Best of luck to you.

I would suggest checking for physical symptoms and seeing a doctor first so see if you have any new medical problems creeping up on you.

I was misdiagnosed for 14 years because I did not do this. I have an autonomic nervous system disorder that was misdiagnosed as mood disorders and anxiety disorders. There are many physical health conditions that cause cognitive, emotional, and mood symptoms.

I had a great experience with cognitive behavioral therapy. It took 3 therapists to find one with an approach that was relevant and helpful to me. I highly recommend it to anyone who has access to it and can afford it, even if they don't have a mental health diagnosis.