Dysthymia

I love the article about the women discussing dysthymia in first person. I strongly believe I suffer from the same form of depression but have never until now heard anybody discuss it. Even when I was in nursing school dysthymia never was discussed. I first learned about it when I asked one of the doctors I was working with about it. I asked her if there was a form of depression that never goes away because I knew about major depressive disorder but it didn't last forever and the patients got better and I was wondering why I was depressed all the time. I have been on many anti-depressant meds and felt better for a month at the most but the depression came back and still does. I would like to tell my story if you want me to. I am not bi-polar or any other psychiatric illness. My question is why do they not teach dythymia in nursing school. I believe very little is known about it and nobody knows what can help. I am depressed daily and very anxious everyday except every once in a while I will have episodes of feeling what I would call normal but it only lasts one or two days. We need more information on dysthymia and learn how to help people like me and the person who wrote the article in first person about dysthymia.

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I was asked to provide more information on dysthymia, a form of depression that never goes away. People who have this suffer from depression their whole life. Sometimes it goes into full blown major depression but mostly it's just depression enough to affect your quality of life. I suffer from dysthymia and it affects my quality of life so much that I can;t even work. I grew up in a city in VA called Portsmouth which is near the Va Beach Va area. Now Iive in Lebanon a city 30 minutes from Nashville TN. I was okay until I started high school when I became very anxious and depressed. I think I started seeing life as it really was a reality scared me. My friend used to come to my house wanting me to go out with him. I remember him saying "get out of your shell" but I would say no. I did go out some but most of the time I would stay inside and watch TV. I didn't want to be around crowds. I believe I had a touch of agoraphobia because of my isolation. When I did go out I would not go alone. I had to have someone with me. It seemed to take the pressure off of me and put it on the other person although I know it didn't. As I grew into my 20's I was still the same but never went to a Psychiatrist. It was taboo back then. As the years went by I still isolated and was worrying about everything even if there was nothing to worry about. I finally went to a Psychiatrist when I was 35 and was diagnosed with depression and the meds worked for a while but I always fell back into the depression and severe anxiety with horrible panic attacks. Nothing seemed to help and to this day at age 55 I still suffer from anxiety and depression and isolate in my house. No Dr has diagnosed me with dysthymia maybe because they know they can't treat it. Please if anybody knows a Psychiatrist in Middle Tennessee who can treat dysthymia please let me know. It has taken away my quality of life and I can't do things with my 10 yr old son and 3 yr old grand daughter. All I want to do is stay at home and watch TV. I dread taking out the trash because people are looking at me and it makes me very anxious. I hope a psychiatrist reads this and maybe can help me. I would like to say that there is a drug that helps me but Drs are afraid to prescribe it because it is a benzo called klonopin but the govt has made Drs afraid to treat their patients with what works. So they treat them with what govt regulations say that won't cause them to lose their license. The govt decides how patients are treated but that's another story.

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Hi Vick,

Thank you for providing that information and sharing your story! I believe I have heard about this disorder, but I didn't know much about it until now. I read that Dysthymia (a form of chronic depression) primarily occurs in women and may be genetic, but the real cause is unknown. I know what it's like to have a condition that is rare and not well known, I use to suffer from a condition that effects the "pelvic floor muscles" and I wasn't able to be professionally diagnosed for a couple years (even though I knew exactly what was going on). I was lucky to find a doctor who was aware of my issue and could understand my pain. I sure hope that you will find a doctor you can connect with in a positive way!

For those who are unaware of the symptoms of Dysthymia, I will provide that information below:

Feelings of hopelessness
Too little or too much sleep
Low energy or fatigue
Poor appetite or overeating
Poor concentration
Low self-esteem

Here are some tips that may help those with Dysthymia:

Get plenty of sleep.
Take care of your body by staying active and eating a healthy and nutritious diet.
Take medicines as directed and discuss any side effects with your doctor.
Take notice of your symptoms and Learn to recognize early signs if/when your dysthymia is getting worse. If it does worsen, have a plan for how to respond.
Focus on activities that make you happy.
Confide in someone you trust about how you are feeling.
Surround yourself with people who are caring and positive and want to bring positive energy into your life.
Avoid alcohol and illegal drugs. These can make your mood worse over time and impair your judgment.
Be open minded to healthy and alternative ways of healing.

I hope this information helps!

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