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The article provides information about the classification and treatment of dysthymia in Great Britain. In the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," third edition (DSM-III), dysthymic individuals was described as being bothered most of the time by symptoms characteristic of the depressive syndrome but are not of sufficient severity and duration to meet the criteria for a major depressive episode. However, due to the difficulty of distinguishing the dysthymia from a number of mental disorder, a proposal to subclassify the disorder has been submitted. Meanwhile, the use of 5-TH2 receptor antagonist ritanserin has been reported to have a positive effect on patients.