After reading some of the other postings, I remembered some other things that I wanted to add in my first posting ("first" as in first ever).

I was born 2 1/2 months premature at a time when neonatal care wasn't even "neo" yet. I don't know what the cause of the distress was but I was oxygen-deprived and born a lovely shade of blue. They stuck me in an oxygen-rich incubator and hoped for the best. Must have worked, mostly. I'm wondering if there are any studies linking this type of birth and depression/anxiety and/or ADD? Are there other types of disorders that are related to the inability to focus?

I also forgot to mention in the first posting a few things: along with depression, I've also experienced periods of anxiety, some prolonged. Most recently, the anxiety has increased in frequency and intensity; the ADD-like symptoms and behaviors predate my depression by at least 10 years (basically since I can remember). Is this a "chicken/egg" conundrum? My prescription for the SSRI Paroxetine HCL has varied from 20 to 60 mg/day. I recently went from 30mg to 60mg. While the SSRI has improved my depression/anxiety, at no time has it improved my ability to focus, maintain a stream of thought, read/learn or stay on task. I should also mention that I am a Developmental Therapist working with preschool-age children with Autism. I'm sure this doesn't help anything but I've only been doing it for three years so, while it may be partially responsible for the increased anxiety/depression, I don't believe that it is an underlying factor.

I think that's everything..maybe.

Thanks