Explaining to my parents that i need therapy. HELP!?

I've been severely depressed for about a year and a half now (my teenage years of depression weren't as serious or self-destructive). I've hinted many times to my family that I need help, and have flat out asked for therapy once. They dismiss it as being overdramatic and over emotional ("emo"), which i find interesting since i rarely express my emotions or talk to them about my issues. (I have people to talk to, just not my parents) I know they love me and they really are good parents, but i really don't think they understand what depression is and how it's affecting my life. I know i need to be responsible for myself, but it's hard to take care of myself when I don't care if I live or die the next day.
How to I explain to my parents that I need therapy and that this is more than PMS? What if they just think i'm asking for therapy for attention? Should i just try to find therapy on my own and find an alternate way to pay for it?

I'm not finanically independent. I'm employed and earning money, but i'm still on my parents insurance and dependent on them. I'm 19 so i consider myself an adult despite that i'm still dependent on my parents (sad, i know). Just thought I would clarify.

Well, if you're being honest and you're serious, by what you've stated here, you are beyond your teenage years. This being true (if it indeed is), aren't you financially responsible for yourself at this point? Why would you even need to discuss it with your parents if you don't feel they understand anyway?

Just go out and find a psychologist/psychiatrist on your own, and hopefully you will get the help you desire.

I couldn't understand your problem until the last 3 words. You said your teens are passed and that they may suspect you have PMS so I thought "what have parents go to do with this, she is an adult". At last I see that the problem is not that your parents don't understand, it is that you want them to pay for therapy.

Yes, you should try to find therapy on your own and find an alternate way to pay for it. In most places, if you get referred by a GP there will not even be anything you have to pay, but if there is, then it should be you who pays. Why not?

It sounds as if you're out of high school but still living with your parents and financially dependent on them. Right?

Call a local hospital and ask for their mental health clinic. Tell them you need an evaluation and about your finances. They may refer you to another place that cares for people with financial problems. Once you get seen by someone and have a chance to tell them about the severe depression you've had and the length of it, they'll get the ball rolling to get you what you need.

Good for you for continuing to seek help for your depression. It's hard for people to really understand severe depression if they haven't experienced it. As a parent I can tell you that it's especially hard to acknowledge that your child can be that depressed because you don't want someone you love to be that miserable.