kerry1

When you say "counseling" do you mean therapy or psychiatry? Ideally you'll find a doctor who does both.

In the first session, you should expect the doctor to interview you for at least an hour and ask you several questions about your health, your personal life, your past, and your family's health and personal life. And yes, even your sex life. These questions may feel very invasive, but they are helpful to the doctor to get a picture of you before he prescribes anything. Since blood-testing isn't very helpful for depression or other mental disorders, the questions are his best method of testing. Symptoms of the disorder can be physical and mental, and some of them might surprise you. For instance, one psychiatrist asked me if I sweat. I said yes, of course. He said, well, some people don't. I guess that's a symptom of some disorder, I don't know what.

You'll probably feel weird answering all these questions, but they may fit a "profile" for a certain disorder, whether it's bi-polar, chronic depression, ADD or whatever. Or who knows, it could be a thyroid problem. The doctor, if he's experienced, may have seen dozens or hundreds of people almost exactly like you. His aim is to treat you in the most effective way. Good luck!!

BTW, "depression" is a misnomer. You may not always feel sad. Some of the symptoms you describe are classic "depression" symptoms. So are rage, foggy thinking, irritability, daydreaming, and anti-social feelings, to name just a FEW. A whole barrel of negative stuff.