Axerton, I can see what you're trying to say but I disagree a great deal with your conclusions.
From the description I've seen on this thread, Cory is in a VERY high-risk situation for depression. Without social support, employment, or a normal sleeping schedule, the likelihood of an accurate "clinical depression" diagnosis, as defined by current psychiatric standards, goes WAY up. Cory probably does fit the diagnosis as of now, in fact. So I can see what you're saying.
But a few things tell me that the psychiatric/medical approach to this sort of thing is absolutely the wrong way to go about it. Basically, it sounds to me as if, without those positive factors in place (friends, social life, daily routine, job), any attempts at therapy or trying to solve the problem from the "inside out" so to speak will simply inevitably fail. Therapy does nothing if a person's life doesn't actually improve any, and so much of the poor quality of life that Cory seems to be experiencing is directly due to external factors that won't at all be solved with a doctor's visit. If there really is something that could be genuinely marked a "mental disorder" and it is playing a causal role in his life, as opposed to being the unfortunate result of otherwise uncontrollable circumstances, it still won't get solved without the help of a social support network and a job. Simply put, the number one priority here is improving quality of day-to-day life, and that will be accomplished with positive social relationships, a healthy sleep schedule, and a living wage or equivalent thereof. After that, maybe Cory, if he so desires, can look into psychological treatment ... but I get a feeling from his posts that the positive lift that he'd gain from changing his lifestyle in that way would be more than enough to quell many of the symptoms that could or would qualify him for a clinical-depression diagnosis.
Cory, there are a lot of resources out there that you can use to find ways to live without a permanent address. The link I posted earlier is to an organization that allows people to exchange manual labor on organic farms for room and board ... if you can pay for the cost of travel to the farm, you should be able to manage an arrangement that keeps you fed, clothed, and sheltered, and hopefully provides you with a community of people to work with. I have friends who have done this sort of thing before and had a great time (I have one in Hawaii right now and I'm planning on heading out this fall to join or replace him), so I can't give you a wholehearted personal recommendation but I can say that it sounds like a pretty good bet all things considered (at least, if you don't mind working on a farm). It sounds to me like you really need a serious change in setting, so from what little I understand of the situation I think you could absolutely benefit from leaving home.
Someone made a really good point earlier about not burning your bridges, though. I agree with that ... as much as your life where you are now sucks, you could put yourself in way worse situations elsewhere in the world, so it would be a huge mistake to completely rule out the option of returning home should you find yourself in an intractable situation.
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Topic: In two weeks I'll be homeless it looks like. (Read 14104 times)