Persistent Depressive Disorder: Definition, Symptoms And Treatment

Persistent depressive disorder, or dysthymia, is a chronic depressive mood disorder in which the person continually experiences low moods which interfere with normal functioning throughout the day.

Dysthymia according to the DSM-V

For a person to be diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder or dysthymia, they must have suffered a series of symptoms related to this condition (constant sadness, having lost the pleasure of doing activities that you previously enjoyed or have simply lost interest in doing new activities, among others) for at least two consecutive years.

Usually dysthymia or persistent depressive disorder starts in adolescence and if not treated properly, it can last for many years. The symptoms associated with this type of disorder are actually not as serious as those of major depression, however due to its long duration and the consistency with which it occurs, it is equally important to start eradicating it as soon as possible.

Anxious dysthymia and other diseases

It is common for people who suffer from this disorder to also suffer from some anxiety problem, substance abuse, or alternate with some type of personality disorder. Usually, people with persistent depressive disorder tend to be with a negative, pessimistic, passive attitude they have lost their sense of humor, they are extremely introverted, they criticize themselves in a destructive way and they tend to complain all the time about their situation and external situations, that is, they see everything as “black” and they always perceive problems and difficulties around him.

As we have mentioned previously, for a person to be diagnosed with a persistent depressive disorder or dysthymia, they must have presented a series of symptoms for at least 2 years. Among the main symptoms that refer to this disease are the following:

• Feelings of hopelessness. The person has low moods almost all the time and has the feeling that their situation will never improve, that they will never be able to feel good and get ahead, that they are condemned to live that way, etc.
• Changes in appetite. You can feel excessively hungry or, on the contrary, experience a deliberate lack of appetite.
• Fatigue. The person feels with very little energy all the time, which is a great limitation when it comes to wanting to carry out even daily activities.
• Low self-esteem. You have a poor self-concept and do not recognize your own value.
• Lack of concentration. There is great difficulty concentrating, which is usually quite frustrating for the person since they stop trusting themselves, this increases the deterioration of their self-esteem and self-concept and can bring other types of problems such as difficulty in making their own decisions. decisions.
• Sleeping problems. There are often sleep disturbances, so the person may sleep too much or, on the contrary, not be able to fall asleep and sleep very little.

It is necessary that in order to treat this condition, the person receives psychological treatment, which can sometimes be combined with pharmacological treatment. This depends on the individual situation of each person, whether or not they are suffering from other types of disorders and which ones.

Dysthymia: test and scales

First of all, special care will be taken in the evaluation and diagnosis process of the disorder since it can be confused with another. After having a thorough diagnosis, therapeutic intervention begins. To carry out the evaluation, many experts choose to use the Beck depression test.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for dysthymia

In general, the treatment that should be followed is the following:

The therapy that has shown to have the best results for this type of condition is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and what is usually worked on first is psychoeducation, which is the part where the patient is informed in detail about this condition. condition, its possible origins are explained, the duration, how it is affecting you, etc.

It also works with the cognitive restructuring The purpose of which is to detect those irrational beliefs and thoughts that the person has and that are influencing their emotions to replace them with more positive and rational ones. If the patient also suffers from anxiety (which happens in most cases), the origins of this are identified and some tools are provided, such as exercises to reduce stress and anxiety and meditation. They are also provided with tools such as behavioral activation so that they can cope with depressive episodes, they are taught healthy habits and finally they are provided with strategies for relapse prevention.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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