Hi BlueJ,
Welcome to the community here at Beyond Blue. This is a great place to get stuff off your chest, to seek advice, support and help and to know that people here understand what you are going through.
Regarding Drs. there is a list here on the site of Drs who are able to help people with depression, maybe there is someone in your area. Another thing I do is when I phone for an appointment at a new medical clinic, I ask if the receptionist can recommend a Dr who understands depression.
I realise that alcohol and marijuana help to dull the bad days and makes life seem more bearable, but I am not really sure how that will effect you in the long run, if they are the only ways you are able to cope with rotten stuff happening in your life.
Not everyone has to take medication for depression, it sounds like you life is relatively cruisey most of the time. You might just need a few skills to help you deal with the negative stuff.
Feel free to elaborate more on the negative stuff if it helps to get it off your chest. Sure beats just laying it all out on your girlfriend. There is a web chat listed above and phone numbers you can ring if stuff happens to get you down too much.
The people connected to these facilities could give you some very helpful advice.
Maybe look up depression on the net and find ways that might help you change your way of thinking and how you look at life before everything becomes too dark for you.
There are plenty of ways you can make your life better, so no, feeling depressed or down does not have to stay with you for life! Keep enjoying the good things and try to find ways to make the bad days seem less depressing.
Hope some of this helps! From Mrs. Dools
