Posted by JohnB. on April 16, 1999, at 23:01:28
In reply to Re: Difference between dysthymia and depression, posted by Mare on April 16, 1999, at 10:53:41
Mare:
My heart goes out to you. Sean summed it up very well and I would only add a few observations from my own experience. Dysthymia seems to describe the kind of depressive disorder that worms it's way into all aspects of your personality after a prolonged (in some cases, years) major depressive episode. In my case, as an adolescent, the initial onset of depression was very gradual, was then complicated by anxiety/phobia/hyperattentiveness, and lasted for years. I was emotionally crippled all day long but was able to hide it from most everybody by becoming, you might say, "emotionally neuter," so as not to fall apart completely. About a decade of this torment finally lead me to see a psychiatrist after a brief hospitalization. Since I let this go on for so long, I feel that this horrible condition is now a permanent part of my personality, though some new research is showing that some dysfunction in the complicated neurochemistry of memory may be causal in many depressions and not just a side effect.Either way, the depressive monster seems to weave it's way into your head to become a part of your every thought, even though you may not be "aware" of it consciously at every moment. So, it's important to obtain medical treatment immediately for any kind of psychiatric problem. And new treatments are around every corner these days.
My best.
John B.
poster:JohnB.
thread:4913
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990401/msgs/4971.html