Dysthmia - moderate depression

[Irulan]

I've been through similar. I initially went into counseling for PTSD related issues left,over from childhood abuse, treated primarily through counseling. After we got through all that, there were still some underlying depressive issues that just wouldn't go away. Back into counseling for more "here and now" (vs past) stuff. What ultimately was right for me was a dysthymia diagnosis, and medication. I've been on antidepressants for over ten years now, and it changed my life so much for the better. Don't be afraid of them. Sometimes there's biochemical stuff going on that needs to be adjusted that no amount of therapy or or other tools will fix. At least, that's my experience. I'm a little bit jealous when I hear of people that can manage dysthymia with meditation, yoga, or exercise. When I've tried to be med free, using a combination of diet, exercise, mindfulness and other tools, it's been a disaster. I function really well: years of counseling and recovery work did me a lot of good, but with my MD we made the determination that we aren't going to try and get off them until I'm well through menopause.

Good luck