Just "A Little Bit" Depressed? You Might Have Dysthymia

If you've felt sad or down for a while, the problem might not be the stresses of middle age or even a midlife crisis. You might be suffering from an under-diagnosed mental health disorder known as dysthymia.

Dysthymia is a form of depression. While the lows aren't as bad as major depression, they are ongoing -- one symptom is that the dark or sad mood persist for at least two years.

Here at LifeTwo we treat "midlife crisis" as several completely different problems, once of which is depression. So a number of people who think they're going through a "normal" midlife crisis* may have dysthymia and should approach it as a disease to be cured.

In a recent article, US News said "Recent research suggests that (dysthymia sufferers) may benefit more from lifestyle changes than from medication." They recommend:

• exercise
• focus on long term happiness, not short term pleasure
• relax
• sleep
• eat foods high in omega-3 fatty acids
• listen to music
• talk with family, friends, or a professional

(more detail about each point is in the US News article)

We haven't been able to determine the source of that research, but none of those recommendations can hurt.

More traditional treatment for dysthymia consists of antidepressants (SSRIs such as Prozac), and psychotherapies such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (to alter negative patterns of thinking and acting) and interpersonal therapy (to fix personal relationships that may be a contributing factor).

Researchers recently found that the dysthymia patients who felt unusually hopeless were at risk for major depression as well -- a psychological double whammy, and all the more reason to treat it as quickly as possible.

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* midlife crises aren't normal, but that's another story.

Other resources: Psychology Today page on dysthymia; NIH's Medline Plus.