>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.
>
>

This is terrible. You must be going through hell. Please look into resources that are low cost, free, voluntered, etc.