dear Acm, hello and great to be able to talk with you.
If you feel willing I'd like to know if you are a female or a male, and I say this only because I always like to know the sex of the person who has contacted us, but if you feel worried then please it doesn't matter.
Maybe your doctor has said ' my condition isn't that 'severe', well that's interesting, but I'm not sure how we can compare what severe is to having full on depression, this point could be debatable, however it's not to be discussed here.
Even if your counsellor has said that you could have Dysthymia, well this is something that I can't judge on, but lets assume that it's true, but having any type of depression is something no one would ever ask for, even if it's mild depression.
If the doctor feels as though you need to take antidepressants (AD) then he/she will prescribe them to you, but as this doctor only believes that you have mild depression, then it's their decision whether or not to put you on them, whereas another doctor may choose to prescribe them to you, or the doctor may want to contact your parents.
If you are independent from your parents then the doctor can make the decision.
You have posted in the 'young people section' and still legally bound by what your parents have to say, but don't we all have secrets, however when anyone has the beginning of any type of depression it should be addressed, either with or without taking medication, but certainly counselling.
If you were my child I would encourage you to start taking the AD, and I say this because my Dad was a doctor and grew up with him helping us when we were sick and normally by medication.
To answer your question is yes you can get better, however you will change direction in what you like and what you now dislike, in other words all the interests that entertained you before, now they might not, and there's a possibility that you will form a new set of friends. Geoff.
