There's a meme in Norway for this where professionals always ask "did you try hiking?"

Seriously though did you try hiking? There are no problems in the back country. Or people.

This question is way above Lemmy's pay grade. I hope your situation gets better. People are right in saying that if self-help fails then it's time to give professional help another chance if that's accessible for you.

I do listen to a lot of podcasts and have recently heard something relevant from an expert in the field:

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos: How to Find Your Purpose

Episode webpage: https://omny.fm/shows/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/how-to-find-your-purpose

Media file: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/pdrl.fm/057e02/tracking.swap.fm/track/SxlTEPDY7xDg35RXkASs/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/96c5c41e-0bc8-4661-b184-ae32006cd726/e1cedd34-b720-49da-98d1-b28f00c5badf/audio.mp3?in_playlist=d623ef0b-3fee-4c26-b815-ae32006cd739

Your post history also indicates that you're routinely steeped in the worst doom news that social media serves up. It seems like it would be worth taking a break from consuming this material and find alternative ways to spend your time.

See a professional, seriously, because this sounds like textbook early depression.

I've read through all the replys here, so I'm not gonna suggest something that's already been suggested. You've already given your opinion on therapy, and on changes/new things.

Let me start by telling you this. You say you don't have a bright future to wait for. My friend, none of us have. Your future is what you make it to be. You set your own course and build your bright future yourself, no one else is gonna do it for you. That's life, and that's what makes it beautiful.

If therapy doesn't work for you, that's fine. I personally don't believe in medication for these kinds of issues, but that's my opinion. Try meditating. Seriously, it does wonders. Start with a few minutes a day and gradually increase, doesn't have to be hard. It's gonna make you into the kind of person who takes a step back and thinks about life.

I do agree with others here that it sounds like you need to find your purpose. Purpose isn't necessarily something you actively look for, sometimes it's just something that pops into your head. For example when meditating or doing other things that don't require any active thinking.

Also, one more thing: If you don't like doing new things, try removing something. Take a digital detox, as I like to call it. I do it from time to time, and I always enjoy it and I come back with renewed energy and motivation for life. Just a few days or a week where you don't open any social media, digital entertainment (music, streaming, web surfing etc.) or anything else not strictly necessary. You're gonna be bored first, I'll tell you that. But then you're gonna find out how nice it actually is. You're gonna start craving for something to do, and if the rule of digital detox is set in your mind, you're gonna start finding new things to fill your time with. Like taking a walk or reading a book. Though it does require determination.

What I like to do when I'm in a digital detox period, is to remove entertainment focused apps from my home screen on my phone, and then put my screen in black & white (called reading mode on some phones) to make it "boring". That's definitely gonna help you.

Life is short, please make something out of it, for your own sake.

Been in that state a lot. That's classic depression. Evo-psych has some stupid ideas but their read on depression is solid. That urge to withdraw from society is a human urge. The urge is designed to lead to either, you leaving your band of primates to seek another, or your fellow group members coming and finding you to show how much you matter to them. Modern life doesn't let that happen though. So many of our relationships are digital or just shallow so no one can tell you're leaving, and changing your group in a real way is hard. If you want to feel betterment you have to use your rational brain to seek out what your body is instinctively reaching for. Pick something that you have always cared about, and go to a real life event centered on that thing. This can be almost anything, as long as there are real people, really sharing a physical space. Talk to the people about that thing. Don't do it just to tick it off the list, you have to pay attention to what they are saying because you need to be able to articulate their ideas and then respond to them.

Change your name and/or pronouns. Half joking, a lot of us live overcast lives as a result of feeling trapped in someone else's life. If you don't have friends then what's there to lose?

Did you try jerking off?

Psychedelics

Get a dog. Always happy to see you when you get home, will pester you relentlessly into moderate excercise, #1 wingman for meeting friends or significant others.

Therapy

Either get used to change in the hopes it will become better, or get used to being miserable in my life you have now. By the way, you’re gonna be uncomfortable in One Direction or the other, so I suggest you choose the better one.

If you hate your life now, but are also terrified to change, you’re gonna have to decide which one is worth, and during that discomfort: things staying the same, the way you hate it, or enduring the terror of the unknown, your life, possibly improving.

Antidepressants

Welcome to my world, friend. It's not as if I don't have friends because I couldn't put on the societal mask and make them; I just simply hate humans that much. Only people I can stand being around are philosophers. People who take a step back and think about the world from a unburdened point of view, and people who talk about what the solutions might one day be.

Only thing that ended up saving me is my wife and children. I would have clocked out long ago. Find someone that hates humanity with you, and cherish them. Or find someone who loves humanity to balance you.