Dysthymia is simply chronic depression which lasts for years. It does not have to be as severe as the major depression; however people who suffer from dysthymia do not even remember a day that they did not felt depressed. The symptoms are similar to depression, overeating or poor appetite, low energy, sleeping disorders, low self esteem and difficulties in concentration and making decisions.
In order to be diagnosed with dysthymic disorder, no major depressive disorder has been diagnosed and the duration in children and adolescents must be at least a year, for adults this is more than two years. This means that the person needs to have a long termed, mild and not complicated depression to be diagnosed with dysthymia.
In adults, dysthymia has a big risk to turn into major depressive disorder. In children, there is a risk of having hyperactivity disorder, learning disorders and mental retardation. Adolescents have bad school performance low self esteem and poor social interaction.
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