I’ve been to a bunch of therapists in my time.

They’re not just people to talk to about your problems. Find a friend or family member or write a journal or something for that.

Basically, if you have a harmful behavior, a therapist can help you understand what’s causing it and maybe correct it. For example, in my case I worry constantly about my work. The the point where it’s more or less paralysing and I’m afraid to leave my house. Therapy can kind of help me dig into the underlying misconceptions which cause the worry.

For me, personally, 100s of hours of therapy was nowhere as beneficial as reading a few books about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT). Learning about these therapies isn’t enough, you have to put them into practice which is hard work.

That said, feeling tired and unmotivated can be caused by a plethora of different physical and mental ailments. Honestly I think step 1 would be to talk to a GP. Here in Australia you can get a full panel of bloods that will show if you’re deficient in any vitamins.

A mental institution is not the right place for you. We are all of us a bit messed up in the head. If you’re 20% messed up and I’m 40% messed up, being somewhere surrounded by people who are 80% or 90% messed up would not be a nice place for either of us to recuperate. Institutions are usually for people who are at risk of harming themselves or others. Another commenter said that’s only for involuntary patients but honestly, you’d only volunteer to be in a place like that if you acknowledged that you were at risk of harming yourself or others.