But I live in a Critical Health Professionals Shortage Area and this clinic is income-based, so
I could only see my counselor every few months. I think the last year I saw her, it was about 3-4 times a year and dwindling.

There isn't any immediate help for me, unless I find myself with the razor blade at my wrists.
Then I would need emergency mental health services.

But dysthymia (chronic mild depression) doesn't need that. And as often happened, by the time I saw my therapist,
my downswing had ended and I'd stabilized again. Of course, stable is lower than a normal person's.
So the downswings are really low, and the upswings are still low. It's still not as low as major depression,
so I can actually function every day, though getting out of bed is hard sometimes. I still make it out.