I don't want to be me anymore

2) Work on your friendships, talk to your friends about how you feel. Don't bottle things.

3) If you can, take a break. Take leave from work. Do something different.

4) Try to think about what you want from the world.

5) You say you've been working at getting your life together, this is good, keep going, it may just be a temporary lull.

I wish you well (and no, I don't know who you are). If you feel counselling would do you good, then look into it today. Be kind to yourself.

a sense of life's worthlessness strikes us all at times. I can't give you a pat "but life is great, so enjoy it!" response, but it's not good to wallow in negative sensations.

your turning over a clean slate idea could be a good one. Maybe not something as extreme as doing a Reggie Perrin, but maybe trying to go back to college or to do new training or something to change careers could be good. In any case, I think it's good that you are even thinking about the clean slate idea, because it shows a willingness to take control of your problems.

Maybe think of taking up a new hobby or something? I took up yoga for a bit last year, and it was good fun to have something structured to do of an evening. The yoga itself was great, but I think it was the having something to do 'religiously' on a given night of the week that was more important.

anyway, good luck.

Obviously, I don't know you or what is happening in your life. But maybe this will help?

I grew up with a couple very close friends. We passed the time discussing politics, art and social theory, etc. We shopped for records, ate out and went to concerts. Basically, we observed but didn't interact with what was around us. I think this is a common situation.

In the last year or two, we each grew restless with our routines and our lives, emotionally, physically and intellectually. This led to depression and hopelessness, and your thread reminded me of the feelings and sensations we experienced.

This is what I did:

I started cooking from scratch. I built furniture. I bought a set of paints (I'm a musician, but my creativity grew stagnant). I borrowed a videocamera, and started making short films. I joined a political party and met people at meetings. I went to a batting cage with friends (I'm not athletic). I walked to work. I just stopped sitting and thinking, and started doing, doing, doing. I know this sounds irrelevant, but this helped tremendously.

I never thought I would be happy outside of a relationship and living by myself, but I am. My life feels meaningful everyday. I stopped thinking only about how I feel and what I should do, and started feeling and doing, then thinking about it and feeling confident and happy about what I was doing. Don't worry what others think of what you do, at least not right now. Besides, simply being active impresses people.

It doesn't matter if you're a failure. I can be considered a failure professionally by some, but I don't feel that way at all. I don't even think about it.

I hope this helps. Email for any reason, okay?