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Dysthymic Disorder is similar Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), with the main difference being that it’s not near as bad. One main symptom of Dysthymia is that it goes on for over two years prior to even being diagnosed. Another symptom is erratic sleeping habits, along with erratic eating habits.

Dysthymic Disorder is also associated with the following symptoms:

1) Thinking abilities are changed – Ability to concentrate and focus is compromised, along with ability to make informed decisions.

2) Changes in emotions – Most people say they feel that there’s no use in doing the things they used to enjoy, because everything seems so gloomy. Temper tantrums become the norm for some folks, along with feelings of helplessness and that everything is hopeless.

3) Becoming Anti-Social – Many folks become anti-social; they avoid crowds and conversations. They prefer to stay at home at eat themselves into oblivion or starve themselves. A loss of their normal sexual appetite is common and many people with dysthymic disorder neglect their personal hygiene.

4) Changes in their bodies – The poor eating habits, lack of exercise, and poor attitude add up to a poor specimen of a human body; tired and run-down is the way a person will feel despite sleeping more than most ‘normal’ people. After taking longer than normal to fall asleep, they will wake up at the slightest sound or for no reason at all. Some will fall asleep very easy and stay asleep for long hours but will still feel run-down and exhausted in the morning, and will have various pains in their joints and muscles.

So How Is Dysthymic Disorder Treated?

It turns out that treatment with standard anti-depression methods work very well for this disease, which should come as no surprise since it IS a form of depression. But most people improve with a combination of psychiatric counseling and prescription medications, which parallels traditional depression treatment methods.

The most promising psychiatric therapy is CBT, or “Cognitive Behavior Therapy.” This promises to help with the down-in-the-dumps attitude and severe self-criticism that many with this disease suffer from. CBT is effective in helping the patient determine which of life’s problems are important and which ones are insignificant. And when setbacks do occur, the dysthymic person can learn to deal with them.

And lastly, therapy is needed to address the high-stress parts of a person’s life that are contributing to his or her depression. Interpersonal relationship conflicts are treated with interpersonal therapy, while the behavioral therapy addresses a person’s ability to cope with life’s stresses.

Do you or someone you know have dysthymic disorder? Many people do, but there are also other forms of depression that many people have. Find out more at http://dealwithdepression.org/