I'm not sure if I'm depressed. I've been seeing my T almost 3 years, she knows me extremely well, and she doesn't think I am. She says the fact that I'm feeling "down" right now is situational. She may be right, but I'm not 100% sure. It's true that I've never been diagnosed with anything and I agree with T that I don't have distorted thinking, I've never been suicidal, I've never acted out, I've never been unable to function. The reason I started therapy was because I was getting out of a 5-year relationship and wanted someone to talk to. I stayed in therapy because I like having a supportive outlet and I like the relationship I have with my T. I also go through periods of time when I'm happier and periods of time when I'm less happy, like most people do. I'm also more of an introvert; I have friends, I go out, I love being in small groups of close friends, but I don't really like big, anonymous social gatherings. I'm friendly and get along well with most people, but I'm not a "social butterfly" and it takes me awhile to make close friends. But, when I do, they're a friend for life. I still have a few close friends in every city I've lived in, as I've moved to attend different universities for each of my degrees. My best friend in the world-- who's been my best friend since we were 16-- still lives in my hometown, which is 2,000 miles away. We talk every day, but it's not the same as having him here. My best friend in my current city is in a relationship and our friendship has changed since her relationship got more serious; she has less time for me, though we're still very close. I am, however, feeling like my social life is somewhat lacking. I'm around people, I have friends, I go out and stay active-- but it's not particularly satisfying right now. I don't feel as close to my friends here as I did before we all got in relationships and drifted a little bit-- trying to recover that connection hasn't been as easy as I hoped. Work is going well for me; I just finished a big project that I feel great about. However, when I was busy working on the project I was happier; now that it's over, I feel a little sad. Yes, I have another big project to work on, but I'm not as passionate about it. I often have the pattern of feeling a little down whenever I finish a big project because I have the time to sit and think about how I feel. When I'm busy, I'm so focused on the project that I don't have time to think about how I feel. Stuff with my family (all out of state) has also been a bit challenging lately (refer to b-day thread), but it isn't awful. Nothing about my life is awful; I'm just not happy. The social stuff is probably what has me down the most. That feeling like you're with people, but you're not 100% connected, so you just feel more alone. And I don't always feel that way. Last night, after I finally did go out for my birthday, I actually had a great time. But, after I got home, I started feeling down again. So I'm not sure if how I feel is "normal" or if I'm depressed. I'm not sure if I should just keep doing what I'm doing, and talk to my T, or whether I should ask to see a pdoc. I've never seen one. I'm not sure if I need to, because I'm perfectly functional-- I'm not in any kind of danger. I'm just kind of down. I'm not sure if it will naturally go away on its own, or if it's something that is worth visiting a pdoc about. I'm not sure if I would ever consider trying an anti-depressant or not. I don't think I NEED one, but maybe trying one would be helpful? I really don't know. Any thoughts?

To add: My biggest concern about seeing a pdoc or trying a med would be the fact that I have some (physical) health problems and I already feel like my doctors don't listen to me or take me seriously. The fact that I ask them questions, pursue second opinions, and "do my homework" rubs them the wrong way. They've already tried to tell me that maybe some of my problems are "in my head"-- so the last thing I need is to give them reason to believe that I DO have problems "in my head." And just in case you are wondering, my health problems are very much real; you can't fake tumors showing up on an MRI! The struggle I have is getting them to believe/ do anything about the constant pain. Just because I go to work every day and am able to function (on non-narcotic pain meds) causes them to believe I must not really be in that much pain. Since when is being strong and fighting through the pain to try and live a "normal" life a bad thing?