Dysthymia: Medical vs. Psychological Treatments
ABSTRACT: Dysthymia has recently been diagnosed as its own unique subdivision of depression. What distinguishes dysthymia from Major Depressive Disorders is both the severity and length of the depression condition observed. Recent research suggests that psychotherapeutic treatment either administered alone, or occasionally in tandem with a pharmaceutical therapy yields the best results. Progressive interdisciplinary research indicates that an even greater scrutiny of a patient's exact social circumstances should be assessed and discussed with the patient. RESEARCH SUMMARY: Recent scientific research has focused on clarifying the difference between Major Depressive Disorders and dysthymia. Experts now believe that if this distinction between long-term major depression and dysthymia, its less severe and not as long lasting counterpart, can be more squarely identified then patients suffering from less acute forms of depression will be more likely to be both diagnosed correctly as well as treated with greater efficacy. Studies within the last 5 years appear to indicate that dysthymia appears to respond better to psycholog-ical treatments than medical ones. Recent psychotherapeutic approaches indicate that incorporating both a concern and an assessment of a patient's social situation may be desirable.
First, dysthymia has recently been defined as a "chronic depression of mood" which does not fulfill the criteria for "recurrent depressive disorder" in terms of either severity or duration of individual episodes. Patients suffering from dysthymia experience bouts where they have trouble sleeping, eating correctly, and/or enjoying life. In general, those diagnosed with dysthymia experience stretches of time where they are feeling depressed, suffer from even acute anxiety, or can be seen experiencing a high degree of inadequacy even as they "are usually able to cope with the de...