Also, when people first go off of anti-depressants, their brains go through some adjustments, so in the first few months off of the meds, it can feel like you are depressed again but it may just be your brain adjusting to the changed levels of neurotransmitter. Things will shift around a bit. If you can get past this first stage, you may find you are not depressed anymore. But it can be hard to push through that and difficult to tell "am I really still depressed or just having this temporary doldrums effect from stopping the meds?" There's not a way to tell but to go off the meds and stay off a while, meantime using your coping strategies learned in therapy. Chemical imbalances in our brains can be caused by a reaction to challenging life events, and once those events are under control, the chemicals go back to "normal." Their return to "normal" can be masked by taking meds so you really don't know how you're truly doing "under there." For other people, their imbalance is permanent, a part of their genetic make-up.

Good luck, Jeff. I admire you for trying to check in and see where you're at without your meds. What is double depression? I think it would be helpful to visit a psychiatrist for advice on the meds question. A GP may not have the expertise necessary to advise you on how to come off of your meds, restart, etc.