Dysthymia, or dysthymic disorder, is a form of the mood disorder of depression characterised by a lack of enjoyment/pleasure in life that continues for at least six months. It differs from clinical depression in the severity of the symptoms. While dysthymia usually does not prevent a person from functioning, it prevents full enjoyment of life. Dysthymia also lasts much longer than an episode of major depression. Dysthymia may or may not respond to traditional anti-depressant medication and to other forms of therapy. Dysthymic individuals are often perceived as being 'dour' and humourless or as martinets.

Many times a stressful or overwhelming situation, like having a first baby (Postpartum depression), will throw a dysthymic individual into a major depression. When a major depressive episode occurs on top of dysthymia, the condition is referred to as double depression.

Classical use of the term

The term dysthymia originally referred to a sub clinical psychotic condition. When translated, the term dysthymia would be rendered: "abnormal, or disordered feelings".

Classical dysthymia refers to "feeling" that something is a reality which is not a reality, for example "feeling" that they know what others are thinking - or "understanding" an underlying social dynamic which is not real. This thinking pattern would lead sufferers to imagine that they are "prophets" or "highly intuitive healers". Such people may imagine that they can "feel" underlying hostilities which do not exist.

These people often endure social estrangement because they continually inject disordered judgments, which are the result of their abnormal "feelings". These disordered feelings and the way that they are expressed within social settings are usually considered to be intensely strange. This definition of dysthymia used to cover a broad band of disorders, which may very likely result in antisocial behaviors.

Approximately 6% of the population in the United States has dysthymia.

See also

• Clinical depression
• Bipolar disorder
• Euthymia