I struggled with social anxiety disorder and severe depression with suicidal ideation for most of my life. The social anxiety is cured, but most of that healing was done through cognitive behavioral techniques (Dr. David Burns book "Feeling Good"), following a strong spiritual path, and reading self help books. I still struggle with depression sometimes, but it is not nearly as intense since I started working with spiritual healers and plant medicines two years ago. I also meditate regularly. Healing has been a gradual process.
Personally, my first advice to anyone struggling with chronic and severe depression is to get yourself to a spiritual healer. I'm not talking about someone who works with plants, but someone who can do powerful energy healings. A shaman or other such practitioner. (Don't bother with Reiki, it is very subtle and you want something strong.) Finding a healer is cheaper than flying out to Peru, won't require you to go through weird or terrifying visions, and will most likely provide immediate relief. I know this is a stretch for most people, especially if they are not spiritual or don't believe in things like shamanism, etc. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I didn't take a chance and see for myself. It can be hard knowing who to trust without a personal recommendation, but see if any of these people are in your area: http://www.schoolofspiritualhealing.com/our-team-new/. I've worked with a few of these healers and any of them should be good. People who have trained with the thefourwinds.com are worth checking out as well. If energy healing doesn't resonate with you at all, then wait until you feel ready and open to it. Otherwise it might not work as well.
About ayahuasca. If you feel strongly pulled to do it, then maybe you are being called to do it. However, keep in mind that it is no guarantee. While I have seen many people helped by aya, the results have never permanently lasted. This is because healing is always a process, no matter what method you use. I know a few people who didn't have any visions at all and remained depressed. This is rare but it happens. It seems to occur more with people who consider themselves not spiritual, but this is just my own speculation. See aya as one of many tools that are available out there for healing. Despite what people say, there is no one healing modality that will cure you...it is a journey that might require lots of different modalities. If you are feeling a sincere and authentic connection with aya and if you are spiritually open minded then it is worth exploring.
On my own experience: The first time I did aya, I went to Peru and had 4 ceremonies. I felt FANTASTIC for 6 months, went to Peru again for 7 ceremonies and came home really depressed and borderline suicidal. I've done several aya ceremonies since then (with different ayahuasqueros this time) and the results are always positive, but I never again had the same extremes of feeling super fantastic or super depressed like I did with my first two trips to Peru. So basically, you get what you get, but over time you also learn to work with the medicine as you get to know it better. (It took 7 ceremonies for me to realize this.)
I've found mushrooms to be helpful, but sometimes emotional stuff has been triggered by the trip. Then I'm left having to deal with whatever has been triggered (loneliness, sadness, etc) long after the trip is over. But usually the end result is positive. For me, mushrooms have been more of a teacher that brings a lot of psychological stuff up. They haven't been as much of a "fun" plant as they seem to be for other people. However, I have learned a lot from them. Mushrooms might be a good choice to start out with, especially if you don't want to go broke. You can always start small and have a trusted friend watch over you. I imagine doing it out in nature would be really healing, but have someone sober with you if you do this! Also you can try microdosing mushrooms to help with a really bad spell of depression. I haven't done this myself, but have considered it in the past.
I hope this helps and good luck to you.
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