Meaning & use
dysthymia
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountabletechnicalmedical
A mental health condition in which a person feels mildly depressed for most of the day, most days, for at least two years.
Grammar: Uncountable; used without 'a' or plural: 'She was diagnosed with dysthymia.'
Patterns
- diagnose someone with dysthymia
- suffer from dysthymia
- treatment for dysthymia
The doctor explained that dysthymia is a long-lasting but less severe form of depression.
People with dysthymia may not realize they are depressed because the symptoms feel normal after a while.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is often recommended for dysthymia.
Common combinations
- diagnose someone with dysthymia
- After several sessions, the psychiatrist diagnosed him with dysthymia.
- suffer from dysthymia
- She has suffered from dysthymia since her early twenties.
- treat dysthymia
- Doctors may treat dysthymia with a combination of medication and talk therapy.
- chronic dysthymia
- Chronic dysthymia can make everyday tasks feel exhausting.
Synonyms and how they differ
- persistent depressive disorder
- This is the current official term in psychiatry; dysthymia is the older name and is still widely used in medical contexts.
- mild depression
- A general, non-technical phrase; it does not necessarily imply the long duration that dysthymia requires.
Word family
- dysthymic adjective
- Relating to or suffering from dysthymia.
Commonly confused: dysthymia or dystopia? dysthymia or dyslexia?
dysthymia vs dystopia
Dystopia is an imaginary bad society, not a medical condition. The two words sound somewhat similar but are completely unrelated.
dysthymia vs dyslexia
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty affecting reading, not a mood disorder.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'dysthymia' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Dysthymia is a long-term mild depression, so the first sentence fits. The second confuses it with 'dystopia', the third treats it as a medicine, and the fourth confuses it with 'dyslexia'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dysthymia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.