What is Dysthymic Disorder?

People with Dysthymic Disorder are chronically depressed. They will have many of the same symptoms found in Major Depressive Episodes (low mood, hopelessness, irritability, fatigue and so forth), but without thoughts of death or suicide. Because they suffer quietly and do not have severe disabilities that prevent functioning, people with Dysthymia are often not diagnosed or treated. They just assume that the way they feel is normal because life is, after all, hard and full of pain. The disorder is often only recognized for what it is once it has transformed into a Major Depressive Episode that requires professional assessment and treatment.

Symptoms of Dysthymic Disorder (DSM-IV Criteria)

In order to be diagnosed with Dysthymic Disorder a person must meet the following symptoms:

•    The person reports of depressed mood or appears depressed for most of the day, for the majority of days two years or more.
•    The depression is accompanied by two or more of these:
    Fatigue or low energy
    Poor self-image
    Hopeless feelings
    Reduced concentration or indecisiveness
    Changes in appetite: decreased or increased
    Changes in sleep patterns: decreased or increased
•    During this two-year period, the symptoms listed above are never absent longer than two consecutive months.
•    During the first two years of this syndrome, the person has not had a Major Depressive Episode.
•    The person has experienced no Manic, Hypomanic, or Mixed Episodes.
•    The person has never fulfilled criteria for Cyclothymic Disorder.
•    The disorder does not exclusively exist in the context of a chronic psychosis (such as Schizophrenia).
•    The symptoms are not directly caused by a general medical condition or the use of substances, including prescription medication.
•    The symptoms cause significant distress or impair work, social, or personal functioning.

Treatment for Dysthymic Disorder

Psychotherapy and anti-depressant medications are used in the treatment of Dysthymic Disorder.