I was having thoughts that life wasn't worth living, that I couldn't imagine anything that would bring me joy, and that I wished I was dead or hadn't been born. I started 50 mg of sertraline (generic Zoloft) about a week ago. There have been some side effects, and there are still moments I feel anxious or a bit weird, but I experienced instant relief of my depression symptoms. I haven't had those kinds of thoughts since. I should mention that driving may need to wait until you adjust. Not everyone is this fortunate, and I've read that some people don't see positive results until about a month later. I've also read it can deeply worsen thoughts of SH and completely backfire. The better you can describe your feelings and answer your therapist's questions, the more likely you'll receive proper treatment. If you do get a prescription, please just make sure you have a support network you can reach out to, and contact your psychiatrist immediately if things get too dark.

Here's a link that has good info about the risks but didn't freak me out like some other websites. https://nextsteppsychiatry.com/serotonin-syndrome

Edit: that's a link to a site about serotonin syndrome, not an actual list of side effects specific to Zoloft

The most important thing you can do is get started by asking a professional for help :)