Anyone been diagnosed with dysthymia?!

Anyone been diagnosed with dysthymia?

How and when did you realise something was wrong?
What motivated you into getting help?
How did you approach the subject with your doctor - were you scared you wouldn't be taken seriously?
What kind of treatment did you get and were you happy with it?
How are you now?

Sorry for all the Q's, but they're all running through my head, so I may as well ask the people who know!

Thanks!

Yep. I've had it all my life but I was diagnosed when I was 18 (so that's when I realized something was wrong) and I'm 24 now.

I just approached my doctor to tell him that there's something wrong with me actually....nothing special. lol

At first I was on this one drug called sertraline (sp probably) and saw a number of psychiatrists who really didn't click with me so I stopped taking the drugs and stopped going and haven't done any of those since. So, no, I wasn't very happy with it.

Right now, aside from being stressed about life in general, I couldn't be better. Dysthymia is a curse and a gift. It allows me to think on a more unorthodox way than others and it really helps me in my job (law enforcement). I still get the odd time when I'm depressed as hell, but I try to convince myself that it's all in my mind, and that it's not reality; in that, there's nothing wrong.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to e-mail me: two_eighty_eight@yahoo.ca. I haven't heard from other sufferers for a long time, and I'd like to help. Cheers.