The Dysthymia was a surprise only b/c I thought my diagnosis was Depression until I got the papers. Looking at the descriptions and symptoms, Dysthymia looks more accurate - in fact if you want to know how I feel and act every day just look up Dysthymia online!

Here's the first (maybe best) analogy in my distorted mind: Dysthymia = my favorite sports cliché these days - an athlete feeling "flu-like symptoms" on game day, except it's every friggin' day. MDD = THE F'ing FLU!, i.e., stuck on the toilet while puking in the trash can.

Try not to visualize that.