Understanding Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)
It seemed as if the whole town had come to the same party. People danced to a live band, kids had their faces painted, dogs ran freely.
Dan, who lives in Massachusetts, had come to the neighborhood celebration with his wife and her parents while visiting them in Maryland.
On the surface, everything seemed great. “It was such a beautiful day, and everyone seemed happy,” he recalls. But Dan couldn’t relate. “There was no reason for me to be sad, but I wasn’t happy,” he says. “I put on a reasonably pleasant front but was aware that this wasn’t a place I wanted to be. ”For years, he had been in a place of chronic depression — able to function but racked with a melancholy that was affecting his relationship with his wife and two children.
Dan has persistent depressive disorder, now the official term for what used to be called dysthymic disorder or dysthymia. A primary feature of persistent depressive disorder is a low mood state that lasts “most of the day, for more days than not” and lingers for two years or longer.
United States
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Cases: 46 252 513
Deaths: 750 423
Recovered: 0
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India
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Cases: 34 321 025
Deaths: 459 652
Recovered: 0
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Brazil
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Cases: 21 835 785
Deaths: 608 235
Recovered: 0
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United Kingdom
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Cases: 9 215 683
Deaths: 141 607
Recovered: 0
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Russia
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Cases: 8 494 589
Deaths: 237 619
Recovered: 0
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