Am I Chronic?

[mandalyn]

I'm an eighteen year old female, and I just finished up my freshman year of college after graduating high school a year early. When I was fourteen, I had a major depressive episode during which I started cutting myself and had some thoughts about suicide, but never got that far. I thought that I had passed that point in my life and finally gotten rid of those kinds of thoughts, but recently I've found myself feeling down a lot, feeling like I'm alone, being especially irritable toward my friends, and being over emotional. This has been going on for only about two months now, but my first episode of depression went on for two and a half years. I'm wondering if I might have dysthymia, or chronic depression. Also, for the past seven months or so, my appetite has gotten progressively worse, and I've almost dropped down to maybe one meal a day without meaning to. I'm the last person on earth to go looking for an eating disorder as some friends of mine have had them and I know what kind of hell it wreaks on the body, but when I'm upset or stressed, I tend to lose my appetite. I was wondering if I might be suffering from dysthymia, and if so, what I can do about it without seeking professional therapy or medication.

[starb10]

as rls27 stated it is always best to seek proffesional help but there are self remedies such as natural herbs, tea's, and subtances for depression.

[rls27]

Start with seeking out a good therapist before you request any meds from a family practice doctor. A clinical pyschologist will be able to diagnose you properly and set you on the course of treatment which is most effective, whether that's therapy, meds, or both.