Hmm, it may sound silly but one thing that helped me to change my outlook on things is the t.v. show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on FX. They are so funny and it helped to lighten me up alot. That and not surrounding myself with people who would feed in to my negativity, being around lighthearted people who don't dwell on things and are able to laugh at the struggles in life instead of letting those things weigh them down. Also the power of positive thinking, it sounds hoaky but it's true, things are only as bad as you let them be in your own mind. Letting go of the negative and only focusing on the positive can really change the way you think and open up a new life for yourself. Those are just 3 things that I attribute my change to, I hope some of them can work for you. Remember to laugh at yourself:)

You may or may not. But this is a very individualized issue and should be discussed with the person prescribing your meds. Only they know your particular case. A therapist could probably also be of service to work through some of these issues.

I agree that this is between you and your medical care provider. That being said, it's also up to you to change yourself. I have Bipolar Disorder. I will be on medication for the rest of my life. After much time and looking within myself, I'm okay with that since I have a calmer, more normal life as a result of those medications. My quality of life is vastly improved. It's important to look at your quality of life in making decisions about these medications in a case like yours. You can make changes that will cause it to be less likely for you to need medications or, at least, as much medication and give you a better quality of life. Study after study after study shows that the very best treatment for any mental health issue is medication AND therapy. If you can find someone who provides you with techniques, not only talk therapy, you'll probably do better all in all. Some of the techniques you can learn are those that lessen anxiety which is all too common a co-existing condition with depression. They tend to go hand in hand. This is generally gained through cognitive behavioral therapy. http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=About_Treatments_and_Supports&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7952 will tell you more about this. I wish you all the best!