Please be very very careful with "self-treatment." I have had extreamly serious problems with depression in the past, and without going into it, lets just say that it really makes a huge difference talking to an objective "professional" about it, regardless if you are on meds or not. Its great that you are seeking out some kind of guidance, its really important to find someone outside of your family and friends that you can trust and feel comfortable talking to. The shrink I was seeing really helped me through a lot.

I have heard mixed things about St Johns Wort. I was on Zolft and Topomax for over 3 years, so the St Johns side effects cannot be worse than those, but I would still be careful. I got off of the meds because I started to feel too "numb" to the rest of the world, and had this kind of false happiness feeling, where I knew my emotions were artificial. I was also able to come to an acceptance that I am just the kind of person who feels things differently than others, and perhaps that isn't totally wrong. That sort of led to some kind of self-acceptance for me, the notion that I don't have to be ashamed of the type of thoughts I have or the way my mind works (I'm not talking about the self-destructive thoughts because those are never okay). I'm not a "cheerleader" type nor will I ever be one. It took a lot for me to be able to embrace that. Not sure if that makes any sense at all.

I think in terms of the bio-chemical idea, that its more a notion of how to deal with it, than cover it up. For women I think its even worse because, at least for me, it gets really bad once a month. But even then its a matter of just realizing that everything is really okay or will be, relatively speaking. If you can't talk to somebody. it helps sometimes to keep a journal and write all the shit down that is going through your head just so you get it out. And music always helps me too.

Since you say this appeared out of the blue a few weeks ago, you should really spend some time thinking about that point in time and what would have triggered it. Your therapist can help a lot with that.

Anyway, definitely don't think you are alone. :)
I don't care for words that don't belong. And I don't care what you're called. Tell me later if at all. I can wait a long long time before I hear another love song... Come here I think you're beautiful. My door is open wide. Some kind of angel come inside... Sisters of Mercy