This is free advice from an expensive psychologist. If you’re an anxious person, do everything for fun. Go to a job interview for fun. Submit documents for fun. Start a blog for fun. Anxiety feeds on importance. Don’t make everything a matter of life and death.
The most exhausting, unspoken burden on men in modern dating is that they are expected to be the sole architects of the relationship. A man is expected to initiate the first text, plan the dates, fund the experiences, orchestrate the proposal, and constantly drive the romance forward. We have completely normalized a culture where a woman’s mere presence is considered her "effort." The absolute second a man gets tired of being the only engine keeping the relationship moving and asks for equal romantic effort, he is instantly accused of being "inconsistent" or "low effort." We demand 50/50 modern equality, but aggressively enforce traditional male burdens the exact moment romance is involved.
People have exactly a two-week limit on their sympathy. When you first break down, everyone is supportive. But if your depression lasts longer than a fortnight, they get incredibly annoyed.
You are not allowed to have long-term struggles. Society expects you to have a quick, cinematic breakdown, cry it out over the weekend, and bounce back to being productive by Monday.
The exact second they realize your depression isn't just a temporary mood swing but a constant struggle, the "take all the time you need" energy completely vanishes.
They stop checking in and start treating your mental state like a deliberate character flaw. You aren't struggling anymore; you are just "not trying hard enough" or "choosing to be miserable."