I found a half-decent description of dysthymia...
"affected people struggle nearly every day with low self-esteem, despair, and hopelessness" gives some idea of the struggle. I showed this to a couple of people who needed to know. Usually I feel insulted by the definitions.
Dysthymia is a
chronic form of depression characterized by moods that are consistently low, but not as extreme as in other types of depression.
Causes Return to top
The exact cause of dysthymia is unknown. Although the symptoms are not as severe as those of other forms of
depression, affected people struggle nearly every day with low self-esteem, despair, and hopelessness.
As with major depressive disorder, dysthymia occurs more frequently in women than in men and affects up to 5% of the general population. Dysthymia can occur alone or in conjunction with more severe depression or other mood or psychiatric disorder.
Symptoms Return to top
The main symptom of dysthymia is low, dark, or sad mood nearly every day for at least 2 years. Other symptoms can include:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/e...cle/000918.htm