I'm in a similar situation myself. I feel really down all the time, its been going on a long time. I used to self harm up until a couple of years ago but have now stopped, though I still think about doing it. My sadness (i dont want to call it depression cos i dont know if thats what it is) got a lot more intense by grief, I lost a close friend in june last year. I also didn't know whether to go to the doctors about it. I think its because i dont really know what to expect, I dont really just want to be put on a load of pills because i know that in the long run that wont help. Has anyone been the their doctors about something like this before? What happened? Also, what do you say? I dont know, just going in and saying 'i think im depressed' seems a bit scary! I hope someone can help, and for the person who started the thread, you're not alone.