The Facts
Dysthymia is a mood or affective disorder, meaning "ill-humor"
from its Greek roots. It is a chronic, mild depression that lasts for a
very long period of time. Dysthymic disorder has less of the mental and physical
symptoms that a person with major depressive disorder experiences.
The condition usually sets in during early adulthood, and the disorder can
last for years or even decades. Later onset is usually associated with bereavement
or obvious stress, and often follows on the heels of a more extreme depressive
episode. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from dysthymia, in a similar
ratio to that seen with major depression. About 3% of the population is affected
by dysthymic disorder, with three-quarters of individuals displaying signs of
other psychiatric or medical disorders as well.
In the past, dysthymia had several other names: depressive neurosis,
neurotic depression, depressive personality disorder, and persistent
anxiety depression.