The first thing is to try and identify why you are depressed. You may well have quite legitimate reasons for it. If you can explain your condition then you may be able to deal with it by changing your circumstances or accepting that depression is a perfectly legitimate response to a sad or bad situation. A five minute consultaion with a GP is not the ideal way to explore this. If you can afford it find a counsellor who will, if they are good, help you to look at your life to see if there is a good reason for being depressed. Remember sadness and grief are normal responses. SSRIs and NSRIs such as Prozac and Seroxat have had a bad press recently but many people swear by them. I don't like them. I have had some training in neuropharmacology and I come from a long line of depressives. If I learned anything it was that everything in clinical psychology is a bit hit and miss. Remember that if you are a single parent living in a manky residence with a violent boyfriend and no money, then Prozac will not change these things. If you want to mask your situation take them or something like. If you are genuinely endogenousely depressed, that is that there is no external reason and that your chemistry is off then drugs may, but only may, be the answer. However they take time. Even St John's Wort takes weeks to work.