What Is The Difference Between Clinical Depression and Dysthymia?

Clinical Depression and Dysthymia are two types of Depression. Both are debilitating conditions to live with.

These are two of the most common types of Depression, and share some similarities. As such, it is easy to get the two confused.

However, as will be discussed in this article, there are some key differences that distinguish these two conditions.

Definitions

Here are the definitions of the two conditions:

Clinical Depression (Also Known as Major Depressive Disorder): This is the most common form of Depression. This is where an individual will feel depressed for the majority of a day, for at least a few consecutive weeks. Typical symptoms include the loss of interest and pleasure in normally enjoyable activities, sleep problems, tiredness, and sometimes suicidal ideation.

Dysthymia (Also Known as Persistent Depressive Disorder): If a patient’s feelings of depression lasts for 2 years or longer, it is referred to as Dysthymia, or Persistent Depressive Disorder. The symptoms of Dysthymia are the same as Clinical depression – but the difference lies in how a Dysthymia sufferer will have persistent depression – while someone with Clinical depression will often have bouts of regular mood between depressive episodes. People with Dysthymia will often suggest they have never been happy, and that they cannot remember a time where they haven’t been depressed.

What are the differences?

The key difference between the two is that someone with Dysthymia will persistently feel down for a long period of time, while someone with Clinical Depression will normally have bouts of normal mood between depressive episodes.

So someone with Dysthymia will have long-term feelings of depressive symptoms like low mood, sadness, tiredness, poor concentration etc. They will rarely not feel this way.

However, someone with Clinical Depression will have episodes of depression that may last a few days or weeks. But these episodes pass, and a period of normal mood follows.

Both conditions cause impairment in day-to-day life. Any type of depression can cause problems in a variety of settings, including in social spaces and employment.

“Double Depression”

It is also possible to have both conditions at the same time. When co-existing, it is known as “Double Depression” – which is very debilitating.

Clinical Depression can easily become Dysthymia. If an individual’s episodes become longer, with few periods of normal mood, they may develop Dysthymia instead.

Getting help

It is important to get help for both conditions. Treatment is available, with a full recovery possible in both cases.

Treatment generally involves a form of talking therapy, and in some cases, medication. Talking therapy provides a person with the chance to speak their mind, and look into their symptoms.

There are a huge range of types of talking therapy. Popular types of therapy for Depression include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psychoanalytical Psychotherapy, and Interpersonal Therapy.

In cases of moderate or severe depression, medication can be prescribed. Antidepressants are the medicine of choice to treat the various types of depression.

There are some similarities between the two conditions. Aside from treatment approaches, it is also not known what causes these conditions. Various things like genetics and past trauma have been put forward as potential causes of Depression.

Summary

So the key difference between these two conditions is duration. Those with Dysthymia will endure long periods of depressive symptoms, while those with more of an episodic nature have Clinical Depression.

Both are very difficult conditions to live with. As discussed above, seeking help for any mental health condition is very important.

See Also

• Depression: Everything You Need To Know
• What Should You Do If Your Mental Health Medicine Isn’t Working?
• FAQ’s About Talking Therapy
• 10 Tips for Living With Depression