I'm looking for good prescription-free (over the counter) medication for depression, anxiety, and ADHD, especially something like SSRIs. I appreciate your personal experiences and am looking for something whose effect is actually tangible! Pharmacies have not been helpful so far.
Not sure what you're actually suffering from, but meds for depression and anxiety span a massive range, but in pretty much all of the cases you mention, they're going to be prescription only. So of course the pharmacy hasn't been able tp help, you need to go to a doctor if you're really ill.
If there were such options, they’d have heard of it. This is serious stuff and is rightly strictly controlled. It is definitely not an area to go self prescribing, I would urge you to see proper medical advice.
If you don't want to go down the prescription meds route, have you thought about more "holistic" changes to your life, i.e. lifestyle - balancing out your diet, taking on some regular exercise and ensuring you're getting enough sleep, as well as taking steps to eliminate stress-causing stuff?
You don't have to go through a long psychotherapy process to get SSRI or similar (if medically indicated). Go see your GP, explain how you are feeling and if they suggest psychotherapy, why you don't want to do that. A decent GP will do what they can to help you and won't force you to do things.
At worst, a GP might need to have a psychiatrist evaluate you (usually one meeting) as GP's sometimes are uncertain on the best medication to prescribe if the situation is complex. But a psych won't force you into talking / other non-medication therapy either.
It's a bit like smoking, not liking vaccinations, preferring paracetamol to ibuprofen etc. The doctor knows what options are available to help the patient....but if the patient doesn't want a given treatment, the doctor won't force it.
St Johns Wort definitely has effects the the brain, and cannot be combined with other meds. I know, I had to rapid-detox it to switch to a more serious combination of meds - it had to be done either over 6 weeks slowly, or in my case, because I did not want to wait... with continuous monitoring at a specialist clinic (psych hospital)...
I would therefore not recommend St Johns Wort without medical supervision. But then, I wouldn't recommend 'self medicating' anyway... and any doctor that prescribes drugs also needs to keep regular supervision of their patient... which means regular appointments.
If it's about cost, then my 'House Doctor' was able to refer for I think 6-8 appointments with the Psychiatrist covered by health insurance... ithout worrying about a long-term diagnosis.
Your willingness or not to engage in 'talking therapy' is personal - some people respond well to meds, some to talking therapy and some both. Usually a combination of both is recommended - sounds like the OP is well aware of this...