dysthymic disorder

Dig it.

Also in there, Dysthymia.

Out of Boston, you heard Until I Was Nothing from The Morning Darkness.

Hypnotic Dirge Records.

So there is major depressive episodes, or MDE, which is defined by the DSM-IV, and that's very severe depression.

The question is, do they really work for lesser forms of depression? Dysthymia, a little bit of sadness, you know, I'm on dialysis, I'm a little sad now.

You should be on an antidepressant.

Do they work? Well, they're big money, right? So Effexor, Celexa, Zoloft, they're big money.

Yes.

Dysthymia is a chronic low-grade depressive tendency.

and as opposed to a major depressive episode.

So major depression has a bigger amplitude.

but typically a lower frequency.

Dysthymia is a chronic tendency, if you were to draw a graph of it, where the mood would be below the baseline to a degree that takes a toll on the quality of life of the person who has it.

And the goal of the medication is to elevate that toward the mean.

It's interesting that something as describable as dysthymia responds to purely more serotonin without necessarily more, and if anything, less dopamine and norepinephrine if presumably there's a compensation and they go down.

And the critical distinction you need to make on your exam regarding depression is the difference between dyspnea and major depressive disorder.

Dysthymia is a chronic, low-grade hum of melancholy.

It's a persistent gray cloud.

Major depressive disorder, on the other hand, is a severe physiological and psychological shutdown.

And today, we're talking about persistent depressive disorder.

I'm just going to call it PDD.

So settle into couch for a little while because we're going to be talking about what happens when depression doesn't necessarily hit like a thunderstorm, but it just kind of hangs around like a cloudy forecast that never seems to completely clear up.

Before we get into it, though, this episode is meant to help you understand what persistent depressive disorder can look like and why it deserves your attention.

It has to have that time requirement.

It's important for the diagnosis.

PDD is defined partly by its persistence.

PDD.