I feel like a piece of dry toast. Nothing seems to bring me joy lately. I pray and ask God for help but feel like nothing helps. I just want to quit my job, leave everything behind and run away. All the time. I am always stressed. Can anybody provide any insight? Thanks
It's depression.
Depression can be caused by a variety of things, some of which can be fairly easy to resolve and some that may never fully resolve.
The first step is to look at when it started and see if there are any coinciding events in your life. Sometimes depression can be a symptom of grief or excess stress. If you see a connection then time should help, or seeing the resolution of the stressful events.
If you see no such connection, or if it has simply been an issue for a long time, then it may be time to get seen by a doctor.
Having them do bloodwork to check for low levels, hormones or even testing for food allergies.
Supposing physical causes are ruled out next is seeing a mental health professional.
Personally I suggest a counsellor over psychiatrist or psychologist. Counsellors are often people who have experienced mental illness themselves, and thus have a more personal understanding of what you're dealing with, despite being less educated.
A good counsellor will help teach you better coping mechanisms as well as diagnose the mental/emotional root of your disorder. Then help you take steps to improve or resolve the issue.
Medication should only be considered if your condition is severe enough to warrant it. Or short term to ease the symptoms so it's easier to handle the difficulty of working through your issues.
Things you can do until then is start learning about depression, what it's symptoms are and how it affects people. As a person whose had it for 30 years learning more about it was one of my best ways of helping to cope with the things I felt.
Also, and this sounds very cliché, but theure actually the best steps you can take regardless of the cause.
Eat healthy.
Exercise regularly.
Be on a regular sleep pattern, and sleep at night if at all possible.
I once had a friend who was depressed. He had aspirations in his life but could not motivate himself to chase his dreams, depressed. I gave him those three suggestions. He disappeared shortly thereafter, but he reappeared a few months later. He took my advice and had already applied for the Air Force (his childhood dream) and he said he felt like a new man.
Of course it doesn't work that well for everyone but is an example that it does make a difference.
Anyways, hope this helps.