Stuck in a mental rut...

I am a 21 one year old male and have felt depressed from round about the age of 16/17. I have been on and off various medications including cipramil and efexor although ive never really felt that much better on them. Ive noticed that when ive stopped taking them for awhile and then take them again I feel good for a few days, i feel like myself which is very very rare but then after a week or so my depressive mood comes back. I find it very hard to concentrate on things and carry out normal day to day tasks. My energy levels are also very low, i usually get eight hours sleep a night but still feel like i havent even slept when i wake up and this continues throughout the day. I also find it hard to understand how i feel emotionally and im constantly analysing everything i experience. I know what i want from life and what makes me happy and i know that i can achieve it but this overwhelming feeling i get or \'depression\' gets in the way of me being able to just live my life. I find it very very hard to talk about how i feel perhaps probably because most of the time i dont know what im feeling just that its making me unhappy. I dont know if much of this has made much sense to you but if you could give me your opinion it would be greatly appreciated.

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