First of all, get a better source while researching what you are going to put into your body. Phenyalanine is an amino acid. Nothing inherently herbal about it. You seem like a pretty normal kid to me. It might actually be healthier to be even-keeled all the time rather than swinging dramatically from exuberence to meloncholy. As for the reasons why you didn't care in college, that is also normal. Eventually you will find something that motivates you. Mix things up. Do something you've never done before. Start thinking creatively. When you're in a rut, life changes are the way to go!
Also look into other amino acids/derivatives like GABA, 5HTP, and tyrosine. Do the research and you will see their effectiveness. The only people who don't want you to know about them are the drug companies who can't patent them, and believe me, they do alot of things to make sure people don't know about them.
Ha ha yes it is! So is OC I didn't have time to read through the thread but did anybody mention Sam-e? I used to take it and it worked wonders.
I have a bottle of GABA I'm going to try. Unfortunately after I bought it I read that it can't pass the blood-brain barrier so it is useless. Or is it?
GABA had a calming effect on me so I could not say it has no effect. My problems weren't that I needed to be calm, I needed a better mentality for going forward with things. The D-Phemylalanine is the most powerful thing I've found for the "lack of motivation" problem. I was not lacking in motivation, I was in too much pain over a lifetime and thinking of starting a project or even a task was just a wall of reasons not too, now I got my endorphins levels up and starting and finishing things is normal... The situation and chemistry is a little different, sometimes radically different, for each individual. Try things that are not harmful and see how they work for you, keep a journal, use google docs for that maybe, they are easy to work with and accesable from anywhere and you can't lose a document. I do that and continually experiment with the mix of stuff I take, hormone levels are very important to the psyche and the health, it's all worth the effort...
Most cases of depression are the result of adrenal fatigue. It takes up to 24 months to cure some cases. I found great results with NSI Licorice Root, NA-R-ALA, and Holy Basil with breakfast and lunch. (Do not take Licorice Root in the PM, you won't be able to go to sleep).