Aracnae, it sounds like a lot of your childhood pain could have been diet-induced, and perhaps still is. Research has found that 90% of a person's serotonin is created in the "gut", so this idea that low levels of serotonin in the body is not a brain issue. If you were eating things as a child that caused inflammation of your stomach and intestines, you probably developed "leaky gut" - yes, it's a real term and real health practitioners know about it. They just happen to a minority group. I really encourage you to Google the research and articles. You can heal a leaky gut with time and the right approach, but first you need to work with someone who even knows about (most doctors poo-poo the idea.) Also, just because you might eat something that might be "GOOD" for people (say, spinach), if you have a food intolerance you could be unknowingly making yourself ill. And by "ill," I'm referring to metabolic and mental issues, not a tummy or head ache.

Anway, if you are serotonin depleted, taking an SSRI or other would only be treating the symptom instead of the cause.

Hope that's helpful.