[bowsamic]

> As a person in long term recovery from alcohol and drug addiction

What has this got to do with anything? Dysthymia isn't an addiction or "horrible circumstances". It isn't even particularly severe, it's just moderately meh all the time. Most people don't seek treatment because they assume it's just part of their personality: "I'm just a negative person" or "I just don't like making friends" etc.

You don't have a clue what you are talking about. Studies that say that dysthymia remission is 50% define remission as "receiving 'Tools to handle life'". It's about coping, not about treatment.

One who has dysthymia may never have long term responses like a person without it, there is no reason to expect it, and we have very little idea how to treat it long term. The best we can do is improve the person's response to dysthymic feelings.

Just because you recovered from alcoholism doesn't immediately translate to dysthymia. They call it "permanent depression" for a reason.