During all this time, those around him may characterize the patient as a gloomy, hopeless pessimist who does not know how to notice the good in anything and constantly talks about how bad it is to live.
Chronic depressive disorder greatly affects quality of life. It's quite difficult to fight him. And yet, effective treatment methods exist, there are medical specialists who know how to cope with this problem. The main treatments for dysthymia are antidepressants and psychotherapy.
A little about terminology
In the main document of doctors - the International Classification of Diseases (abbreviated as ICD) - dysthymia is included in a group of diseases called persistent mood disorders . There are two main conditions here:
- Cyclothymia , when the emotional background fluctuates periodically. A person either falls into depression or is in high spirits, but neither of these states is expressed strongly enough. Often, over time, cyclothymia transforms into bipolar disorder.
- Dysthymia is a condition in which the mood is constantly bad for a long time, several years. The disease can occur in mild, moderate or severe form.
Types of chronic minor depression
Dysthymia is divided into the following forms depending on the course:
- “clean” – with mild depression;
- periods of depression are quite long and regularly recurring;
- attacks are rare, but protracted.
There is also a division according to symptoms:
- Characteristic dysthymia is manifested by persistent disorders that do not go away for a long time. The individual loses the ability to enjoy life, he is bored, he is in a bad mood, and he views the meaning of his existence pessimistically.
- Somatized dysthymia. A person feels worse every day, he develops rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, and constipation. Disturbed sleep, depressed state, anxiety.
Why does chronic depressive disorder occur?
The exact causes, as with other types of depression, are unknown. There are just some assumptions:
- It is believed that people suffering from dysthymia have some differences in the structure of their brain. This issue has not been fully studied, but researchers hope that work in this direction will help shed more light on the causes of the disease and find new treatments.
- In people suffering from depression, neurotransmitters - substances that transmit signals in the brain - do not work properly. As a result, the mechanisms responsible for stabilizing mood are disrupted.
- Heredity also plays a role. Observations show that the risk of chronic depressive disorder is increased in people who have relatives with a similar disease. This may be due to some genes that have yet to be discovered.
- The onset of the disease is usually provoked by various negative events in life. These can be traumatic events, physical injuries and serious illnesses, bereavements, severe and chronic stress. Troubles in the family, at work, frequent conflicts, difficult financial situation - because of all this, depression can begin.
Although the causes of dysthymia are not fully known, effective treatments exist. Doctors do not know why the disease occurs, but they know how to successfully fight it.
New technologies to help
Currently, with global computerization and the widespread development of the Internet, it is possible to use the latest technologies to combat dysthymia. The CogniFit program is popular, which you can pay attention to at any convenient time by registering in advance. With its help, you can minimize attacks without the use of drugs, improving your cognitive state.
The fact is that with depression, attention, working memory and other cognitive abilities deteriorate. That is, cognitive deficits may be the culprit of low mood.
“CogniFit” is a personal brain training that stimulates and restores memory, perception, reasoning, attention, etc. For this purpose, 18 tests and more than 30 educational games are offered. The difficulty level is adjusted individually for each user. Online tasks also assess 22 cognitive functions.
This neuroscientific program was developed by CogniFit, a company involved in the field of cognitive health research. It was created in 1999 by Professor S. Brezhnits. A whole team of psychologists and neurologists worked on it, combining the latest discoveries in the study of the brain and advanced algorithms built into simple tasks solved in a game form.
The CogniFit neuropsychological test will help determine the presence of depression in just 30-40 minutes.
Symptoms of dysthymia
Over the course of several years, symptoms of chronic depressive disorder gradually come and go, waxing and waning. They usually persist for at least two months. There are no sudden mood swings. But sometimes episodes of major depressive disorder may occur against the background of dysthymia. This condition is called double depression .
The main manifestations of dysthymia:
- Depression, low mood, feeling of “inner emptiness.”
- Loss of interest in business. Even activities that used to be fun are no longer fun.
- Constant feeling of fatigue. A person feels like a “squeezed lemon”; he has “no energy” for anything.
- Increased irritability. Various events for no apparent reason cause outbursts of anger.
- Low self-esteem. It seems to a person that he is incapable of anything, useless.
- Decreased performance. Things that used to be easy began to take longer, and efficiency dropped.
- Frequent feelings of guilt; events in which a person made a mistake, acted badly, or found himself in an awkward situation are constantly replayed in the head.
- Avoidance of society. I don’t want to communicate with anyone or participate in any common activities.
- Sleep disturbance.
- Poor appetite or constant overeating.
What happens if you don't get treatment? A person suffering from chronic depressive disorder cannot live a full life. And over time, this condition only gets worse. Problems at work or school grow like a snowball, there is no normal relationship with family. In an attempt to forget about their problems at least for a while, many patients begin to abuse alcohol, sometimes it comes to psychoactive substances. In some cases, dysthymia becomes the starting point for the development of mental illness. The patient may commit suicide.
If symptoms of dysthymia develop before age 21, it is called early onset . If a person over 21 years of age sees a doctor for the first time, this is a late onset .
Differences between dysthymia and ordinary depression
- Dysthymia acquires a protracted, chronic course; a depressive episode has the character of a phase - that is, it ends sooner or later.
- Dysthymia does not reach severe symptoms and can occur secretly, which is why patients rarely seek help; the depressive state can intensify to a severe state (with psychosis, suicidal thoughts), patients often come to the attention of psychiatrists and psychotherapists.
- The mechanism of development of dysthymia is associated with changes in physiological processes in the central nervous system (balance of excitation and inhibition, exchange of neurotransmitters, etc.).
- The peculiarity of the disorder is that patients rarely seek help from doctors, because they do not believe that something can be corrected and the symptoms do not reach painful severity.
- For patients with dysthymia, it is common to turn to specialists other than doctors: psychologists, priests, the so-called. healers, “sorcerers”, “bioenergy therapists”, etc. Most often, the initiators of seeking help from a doctor are the patient’s relatives, and the initiators of “non-medical” figures are the patients themselves.
How to treat chronic depressive disorder?
First of all, antidepressants are prescribed. This is a large group of drugs, many of them have serious side effects and are not suitable for all people. It is important to choose a drug or combination of drugs that will be optimal for a particular person. This is not always possible to do the first time. You may need to try different types of medications. You should not expect an immediate effect: usually medications begin to work after a few weeks. You should not stop taking medications on your own without consulting your doctor. This can lead to withdrawal syndrome , depression will return with renewed vigor. Treatment is carried out for a long time.
The second direction in the treatment of dysthymia is psychotherapy. It also comes in different types. Most often they resort to cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. Working with a psychotherapist helps you change patterns of thinking and behavior, learn to control your condition and cope with life's difficulties without falling into depression.
Some people who suffer from dysthymia for a long time, especially if it began in childhood, perceive their condition as habitual, as a “bad character” with which “nothing can be done.” In fact, this problem can and should be dealt with. Experts know how to help if you have been suffering from depression, even for a very long time. Make an appointment with a doctor at the Cordia Clinic :
Treatment
Therapy for dysthymia aims to eliminate unfavorable symptoms, prevent relapse, and return the patient to normal life.
The selection of drugs occurs strictly individually, taking into account the age and well-being of the patient and the frequency with which symptoms appear.
The doctor prescribes immune system boosters and antidepressants used to treat depression.
Psychotherapeutic methods are also not ignored: cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal and family therapy.
Prevention
Based on the information reviewed about what dysthymia is, it is clear that there are no real ways to prevent it. But there are some steps you can take. Because the disease often first appears in childhood, it is important to identify children at risk. It is useful to work with children, help them cope with stress, increase resilience, self-esteem, and create social support networks.
For adults, proper rest and relaxation are recommended (for both preventive and therapeutic purposes). Social activities, yoga, meditation, and physical exercise work well.
Factors that provoke the disease
To date, there is no single expert theory about the factors that provoke this type of chronic depression. The most likely hypothesis suggests a direct connection between the onset of the disease and changes in the chemical composition of substances that affect brain activity. A key factor in the formation of depressive disorder is considered to be a deficiency of serotonin, which is the main neurotransmitter.
Factors that increase the chances of dysthymia
:
- Chronic somatic diseases.
- Regular exposure to stress factors.
- Individual properties of the nervous system and a number of personal characteristics.
- Difficult situations “from childhood” in the form of strict upbringing, loss of loved ones, social isolation.
- Incorrect rest and work schedule.
- Junk food, lack of diet.
Service price
- HOSPITAL Day hospital5 000
- Day hospital with intensive care8,000
- 24-hour hospital (all inclusive, cost per day) 12,000
- 24-hour hospital (all inclusive, cost per day). Single occupancy24,000
- 24-hour hospital (all inclusive, cost per day). Single occupancy in a superior room 36,000
- Primary family counseling for relatives of patients undergoing inpatient treatment free of charge
- Group psychotherapy for relatives of patients undergoing inpatient treatment free of charge
- Group psychotherapy for 24-hour and day hospital patients free of charge
- Individual post for a hospital patient (if indicated)6,000
Questions and answers
If dysthymia is a mild form of depression, why is treatment necessary?
If we talk about the problem of this disorder, then at first glance it seems harmless. And many believe that slight sadness and melancholy will pass on their own. But in fact, against the background of long-term dysthymia, when exposed to a number of psycho-emotional overloads, a severe form of depression can develop, which will require much more time and effort for treatment. And in some cases, therapy not started on time ends in a suicide attempt by the patient. Therefore, it is very important to use all methods and level out the condition at the initial stage in order to avoid complications.
Why do you need to take medications for dysthymia?
Before using psychotherapeutic methods, it is extremely important that the patient’s mood normalizes. Otherwise, it will be difficult for a specialist to establish contact with him and achieve a positive result. Usually, with the right and comprehensive approach, such a pathology responds well to treatment. In severe cases, medications are used while a person is in hospital.
