I've had depression for a long time. I was desperate for an answer, and did not want to have to take prescription medicines because i can't even afford to GO to the doctor to get the prescriptions in the first place, and because i don't like what i hear about side effects. I did actually take Zoloft briefly a few years ago and i hated it. I was in a fog of sleepyness constantly and i was too sleepy to tell if it helped my depression at all. Anyway, yesterday i was just miserable. I had yelled at my young children all day long for the 5th day in a row, and felt awful for that. So then i would bawl. I was upset at the example of absolutely NO coping skills that i was showing my kids. I could not get a grip on it and just felt like completely shutting down. Really words can't express, but i am sure many of you know what i am talking about. Anyway, searching the web for some help, i came across this forum and began to read, to my amazement, that over the counter non-traditional medicines could really help people! I first read mostly the SJW threads, but it became clear that maybe 5-htp, which i'd never even heard of before, might actually be the thing for me. I have suffered (or more accurately, my family and friends have suffered) from PMDD for several years. I thought very expensive treatments were the only hope for that disorder, and i couldn't afford to treat it, so it went unchecked. I'd also had insomnia, and just general depression for as long as i could remember. I wiped the tears off of my face, loaded the kids up and went to HEB. On the bottom shelf, quite unassuming and small, was a bottle of Natrol brand 5-htp 100 mg. capsules. I bought it, and some vitamins, and came home and took one capsule before i went to work last night, unsure of what to expect since i had read that it seems like it kinda hits different people different ways. Within 20 minutes i felt myself calm down. I'm not kidding. For the first time in quite a while, i felt calm and a little more in control of my emotions. I went to bed after work and slept really well except for when my son woke me up at 3 a.m. On a side note, i don't understand all the talk about dreamless sleep. I was taught that everyone dreams almost all night long but that you only remember the dreams you awaken in the middle of. This has always seemed to be true for me. I don't understand why the thought of dreamless sleep is so upsetting either. But anyway, I took another 100 mg this morning and i am still feeling better than i have in a long time. I am a tiny bit light headed, but not even as much as when i take a sudafed. I may buy a bottle of 50 mg capsules to have on hand as well, in case i want to take less. But i just wanted to say that this feels like it may work for me. I say it cautiously, but with hope. So far so good. Just to have a little relief is so nice. I actually did cry this morning, but it was only for a second and over something that a normal person would cry over. I haven't barked at my kids one time, and have actually laughed quite a bit today. WOW. 