Dysthymia (Chronic Depression)

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I was diagnosed by my therapist with Dysthymia, which is a mild, but ongoing form of Depression. It explains why I was always so negative and seeking sympathy from people. I had thoughts of suicide, but never acted on them. I only did what I was focused on. I also didn't care about looking for employment. I had reason to believe that I was depressed since I was 7. I'm not really sure...

Now, I'm on antidepressants and I am seeing my therapist every 3-4 weeks throughout the year. This has been funded by my state's DVR program and I hope that afterwards, my Medicaid benefits can cover it.

If any of you out there have had ongoing depression lasting longer than 2 years, go ahead and post your thoughts. However, please leave your suicidal thoughts at the door or in The Haven. Thank you!

I've been depressed pretty much constantly for the last 10 years and while it sucks, I've become used to it. I can't afford medication so it's not like I have another alternative.

Hello. I am 17. I have had dysthymia for years - I don't know when it started. But then I also had major depression from July 2010 - February 2012, with a period of about 8 months with severe major depression...

Do antidepressants help you? Usually they only help for major depression, not for dysthymia.

vigorous exercise [the dripping sweat-huffing and puffing kind, for at least an hour daily] saved me from depression. the pills also helped but mainly it was the physical activity which did the heavy lifting.

I've suffered with this since early childhood, and am in my early 50s now. The problems caused by my Asperger's causes this in me. Back when I was growing up Autism spectrum disorders were not recognized. Instead we were diagnosed as having emotional/behavior problems, and/or being a discipline problem. I have gradually found coping methods over the many years of my life, so I manage better now, but will always have at least a low grade depression. I did have a bad spell a few years ago, due to conflicts with a relative I was living with. His GF, who had her own home a couple of blocks away, wanted me out of the picture, so they could get married, so she kept bad mouthing me to him when they were together at her house. However, she always put on a friendly front to me in person. Nice, huh?! I finally realized what she was up to when I would get calls from my relative from her house, during which he would rant at me. This happened several times, before I grasped what was up. She eventually had her way, and I ended up homeless for a time. My parents were finally able to buy a run down trailer not far from their summer home for me. Once I moved there I was able to qualify for first Temporary cash assistance, and then eventually disability assistance due to my health problems. I am able to pay my parents rent on my trailer out of that. The state I had been living in before moving near my parents wouldn't provide any cash assistance, even though I had no money, no job, and was no longer able to work due to health problems, so I am better off here, now. I know the trailer is old and run down, but it is much better than being homeless or living with the other relative who kicked me out. It is also nice for an introverted hermit type, like me to finally be able to live alone. Living with relatives all of my life prior to this was very stressful. Although it does sometimes get a little noisy here in the trailer park, I don't mind, as I really like living alone. It has reduced my stress levels a lot, and that has reduced my depression level, too.

I was taken to many therapists and psych docs as a child and teen, and hated it. I also hated the side effects from the meds they prescribed, which didn't help anyway, so I prefer to handle my constant low grade depression with my own coping methods. Living alone has been a big help, along with getting disability, so I can pay my bills. I never earned a lot when working, so I don't have any credit card debt, as I never qualified for a regular credit card. I also don't waste money on gambling, drinking, drugging, or going to wild parties. This means that I am able to get by on my disability assistance, as I am not over my head in debt.

I think we each have to find the coping methods that work best for our own selves. For some that will be therapy and/or meds. For others, like myself, we have our own methods that help some. You just have to keep trying different things until you find what works for you, but don't give up.

Next year I will be 80. I am autistic. I suffered all my life of depression (bipolar). I marvel that I reached my age being absolutely lonely and, of course, depressed. With time you develop strategies to cope with depression. You may have sume [i]ersatz[/i] life, by reading and seeing movies, Now this doesn't work very much as I cannot identify with fictional characters whose life has nothing to do with what is in the range of my life. It's as if I landed in an alien planet (the earth) from far away.
To follow, if possible.

Hello. I am dx'd with Major Depressive Disorder, but I think it's more likely Dysthymia. I did attempt suicide once, but it was sixteen years ago, and I don't believe that I will ever attempt it again. I agree that you adjust to being depressed over the course of a lifetime, and find coping methods to make it better. I found that antidepressants have helped me in the past ( I've been on various kinds over the years) but like auntblabby, I feel that good hard exercise has been very beneficial. It can help you lose weight and get in better shape, too, which doesn't hurt!

One method that helped me was walking.

When I would get really depressed or uptight, I would walk for miles. I remember one time that I walked for almost 7 miles in pouring rain because I was so upset.

I used to play video games when I was upset, but that didn't help and it became an addiction that I didn't need.

Other ways I cope, but doesn't help much either is eating comfort food. In my case, it would be pasta with butter, garlic salt, and cheese. I would eat a whole potfull of it. However, it's not the best thing to do for my health.

Suicide. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I'm probably the worst person for dealing with stress. I drink hard apple cider & lite beer and play video games, specifically Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 3. I'm between jobs now so technically I'm stress-less. I have a loooooooong history of depression but I'm glad that these days it's not so bad. At least I'm not homeless - for now.

I also have Dysthymia; have had since I was about... 14 or so? (I'm 19 now) I managed it well until last year when I kind of... felt apart, and since then I've been on anti-depressants. They're not for everyone, but for me they are wonderful and I can get on with what I'm doing without being distracted by my illness.

I have been diagnosed with Double Depression. That is such a dumb sounding diagnosis.

Basically, it is Dysthymia with occasional bouts of clinical depression. I have had some form of depression for as long as I can remember. I remember having clinical depressions in early grade school. I didn't know what depression was, but I felt sad, didn't want to do anything or see anyone, and I couldn't think. I used to imagine my brain was this complex plumbing system in which my thoughts flowed, and when I was depressed I felt like that plumbing system was clogged and nothing could move.

Anyway, when I was experiencing this in the early grades and kindergarten, the feeling was not new to me. At the time my Pediatrician diagnosed me with a thyroid disorder and put me on thyroid medication. I was later diagnosed with Dyslexia, and in recent years with ADD and GAD and later Social Anxiety Disorder.

I'm on meds now (which help), I go to see a therapist about once a month (which also helps) and I go to a Social Anxiety Disorder Support Group (which also helps). I can't say I am a happy person but I am surviving. Still, if my life were to end today, I don't think I would be terribly disappointed. It's been a good life. I can't complain. I have a job that I like, a roof over my head, and a small group of friends. Intimacy is a problem, which is probably why I can relate so well to the people on these forums.

I do this too. It's nearly always been enough to pull me out of even the heaviest "drops" (I call them "drops" because I have bipolar and sometimes I can drop suddenly into quite severe depressive states) except for yesterday, when I experienced complete disassociation in the middle of an intense exercise session.

I've experienced extended Major Depression periods when I was younger, felt almost like becoming robotic where you mindlessly go about daily living without feeling anything except occasional despair.

I do this too. It's nearly always been enough to pull me out of even the heaviest "drops" (I call them "drops" because I have bipolar and sometimes I can drop suddenly into quite severe depressive states) except for yesterday, when I experienced complete disassociation in the middle of an intense exercise session.

I've experienced extended Major Depression periods when I was younger, felt almost like becoming robotic where you mindlessly go about daily living without feeling anything except occasional despair.

being robotically numb would've been a vast improvement over where i was in the depths of my despair when i was feeling totally worthless and ugly and undeserving of life. i would've been so "happy" if only i could just be robotic at those points.

I've had both, and being numb isn't an improvement. It's its own form of despair, which is hard to explain until you experience it.

I've had depression where one feels worthless and everything seems intensely bad and negative. That's very bad, but I can have states where I get even worse, where I can't seem to feel anything. The technical term for this is anhedonia. It is truly awful because it is extremely hard to get motivated to do even the most basic of things. If I'm in the earlier stages of depression, sometimes vigourous exercise can slow down or stop the descent, but if slip past into anhedonia than I can't out without medication. The problem is it often takes me days (I am not exaggerating) to start thinking about see my dr. and start taking meds. I have lost jobs because of this where I can't go to work, but also can't seem to do anything much about it.

Exercising is great, I can actually lower my dose of mood-stabilizer if I'm exercising regularly. I tried 3 times in my 20s to control my bipolar without meds and using exercise alone. Sadly, it did not work. I need a mood-stabilizer or I won't be able to function in life often with some other meds too.
It is interesting you call them "drops". It really does feel like the "bottom just falls out" sometimes, almost overnight!