Dysthymia: is a different form of depression. Dysthymia is like
a low-level depression that lasts for many years. People suffering
from Dysthymia are not fully depressed, but never feel quite right
– they never feel happy or content within themselves. There
is often a sense that something is missing in their lives, but
it is very difficult to identify what that specific thing is.
Often we describe these people as simply being unhappy. The diagnostic
criteria for dysthymia include:
1. Depressed mood for most of the day, for more days than not,
as indicated either by self-report, or by observation by others.
2. Symptoms have lasted for at least two years.
3. Presence, while depressed, of two (or more) of the following:
