Dysthymia
Dysthymia ( dihs-THIY-mee-uh), also known as persistent depressive disorder (PDD), is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically a disorder primarily of mood, consisting of similar cognitive and physical problems as major depressive disorder, but with longer-lasting symptoms. The concept was used by Robert Spitzer as a replacement for the term "depressive personality" in the late 1970s.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) indicates that persistent depressive disorder— the new name for what was called dysthymic disorder in DSM-IV—is a serious state of chronic depression, which persists for at least two years (one year for children and adolescents). Dysthymia causes substantial distress and functional impairment—not as much as major depressive disorder, but close.
As dysthymia is a chronic disorder, those with the condition may experience symptoms for many years before it is diagnosed, if diagnosis occurs at all. As a result, they may believe that depression is a part of their character, so they may not even discuss their symptoms with doctors, family members or friends. In terms of official diagnostic entities, DSM-5 removed dysthymic disorder (DSM-IV), and introduced a new psychiatric construct: persistent depressive disorder. The DSM-5 authors explained that this new disorder subsumes the DSM-IV diagnoses of chronic major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder. This change arose from research showing no evidence for meaningful differences between chronic major depressive disorder and dysthymic disorder.
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