You may not need a doctor to tell you how you are feeling or to put a name on it. It would however behoove you to seek professional medical help to manage your depression.

I don't need a doctor to tell me I'm having a heart attack, but it sure would be nice to have a doctor treating me.

That's exactly what I was going to say.

You don't need a Dr. to tell you how your feeling, that is correct. But you do need a Dr., a Psychiatrist specifically to diagnose you with Depression, either Uni-Polar or BiPolar and get you set up with treatment for your Depression.

You can't just claim a condition and expect a Dr. to treat you based on your self-diagnosis.

Agree to all above..but any licenced psychotherapist or counselor can give you a diagnosis do your insurance will cover treatment. Treatment can be talk therapy, medication or both. And licenced person can either be a GP, psychiatrist..also an MD or DO, clinical social worker, psychologist, or mental health counselor. I am a licensed therapist and it is generally understood that folks should try talking through feelings and problems first before resorting to heavy duty medications unless the person is suicidal. Hardly any MDs, even psychiatrists, pursue training in talk therapy anymore. They only prescribe meds which have many side effects...but important option if youve already tried psychotherapy and have not gotten better.