Hello all! Thank you for the replies.

I do not have a therapist. I went to one once who barely spoke three words with me and then handed me a bunch of drugs. My primary care physician then put me on Effexor. I have a new doc now, who I will be going to see in two days, and when I do I will discuss a therapist with him. I think it's time.

As far as staying on meds forever - I'm not ruling it out. But if I am capable of maintaining an even keel on my own for an extended period of time, I'd rather do that than keep using chemicals. As someone else said, each person's treatment plan is different. And I am hoping some therapy will make it possible to maintain the even keel even longer after the meds.