I do agree though that maybe socializing and exercising will help. What was the point of getting 2 degrees if in the end I can't articulate myself and carry on an intelligent conversation. I don't know but I hate it so much I feel like my years of schooling went to waste. I'm not as sad as I used to be but maybe now it's stress and anxiety combined with on and off sadness and thinking too much. For a while now I just feel like a complete idiot, I can't get the words out so I mumble or use basic words, it makes me so sad and I'm in my 30's, I suffered with depression on and off for years. I have always been very quiet and a listener but could still speak and articulate myself when I needed to. It will train your mind to stop fearing normal situations. You essentially force yourself to go into a situation that makes you nervous until the nervousness passes. It was terrifying, but after a while, I realized that there was no reason to be feeling anxiety. I forced myself to sit down, order food, and stay in the restaurant. I first had to get in the car and get there. What I mean by this is I would go to a place or do something that gave me crazy anxiety. While I was in therapy, we practiced something called "Exposure Therapy." Basically what it means is that you force yourself to feel anxiety until your body no longer processes it as a threat. I know this isn't an option for everyone because it can be expensive, but many insurance policies will pay for some of the therapy. Of course you can! My anxiety didn't start to get any better until I started seeing a therapist who specialized in anxiety/depression.
From personal experience i recommend exercise and socializing, they are good ways of building self esteem and beginning to overcome your problems. But once you grow comfortable with yourself everything becomes a lot clearer. the mind is a complex thing and can easily overwhelm you if you let it. To me mental illness is just a state of mind that you can become trapped in, and as easy as you fall in you can fall out of it. I personally don't like the fact that depression, anxiety etc are considered mental illness'. keep the belief that you can overcome your problems no matter how depressed you may feel. i suffer from depression as well and i feel the most important thing to have whilst dealing with it is hope. for me personally the trick has been to remain positive and always look at the good side of things no matter how bad it seems. I have the same speech problems you do and sadly they are due to the anxiety, as you begin to conquer your anxiety the trouble to find words get easier. i still have anxiety issues but they are nowhere near as bad as they were. I've had the same problems since i was 13, i'm now 18 and can honestly say i'm a lot better than what i used to be.