Dysthymic Puns

As it described above.

was just asked about an upcoming family trip somewhere warm in april, with 2 couples and myself. the thought of having to be “on” for a week, having to carry on conversations, having enough energy for the things they want to do….. it seems too overwhelming. i honestly just had a breakdown thinking about it and picturing it.

it wouldn’t be the first time i’ve intentionally missed out on things like this. i once chose not to attend a music festival with friends bc i felt too depressed & would make everybody miserable.

Alright today was a tough day from an exercising perspective. It was my 6th day on a 2000 calorie meal plan and I was just so lethargic/low on energy I could only walk on the treadmill. Early in the day I was feeling sluggish and added nuts to my yogurt whey protein mix before going to the gym. Was thinking maybe I needed more healthy fats before the exercise. Nope. If I'm struggling with the treadmill (as today is my designated cardio day), I try to do cardio exercises on the side. Push-ups, lunges, battle ropes etc. Very, very low energy here again. A complete stranger even asked me if I was okay (something that I do appreciate for asking). Honestly I was ashamed for being in this state, but I just said thank you I'm okay. Did I undershoot it with carbs? I didn't know for sure. Does my body need to get used to the meal adjustment? All these questions are difficult to answer accurately I feel, especially with dysthymia/depression lurking about. Do I need more of a macronutrient as a depressed/dysthymic person?

I approached my nutrition pretty casually in this fitness journey and reached my maintenance weight. Then followed my strength that improved. So now body fat became the next objective, with an admitted rocky start. Before I fell ill I enjoyed exercise, it's not easy doing regularly now but I see it as a necessity to combat my illness. Tracking and optimizing are tools that help me. I used an adaptive tdee app but I don't know how accurate it is in my case. The online tdee calculators are also tricky because it can be so individual how one defines the activity levels. I don't want to overestimate or underestimate my maintenance tdee.

Would really appreciate input here! Sorry if that was long but so many thoughts after today.

Hi everybody, I recently learned of the disorder dysthimia and have been very curious ever since. I have been “depressed” ever since I was like 8, after my grandmother died. currently 21. However, I have always been “high functioning”, even turning into a social butterfly at age 16 and just simply being a joy to be around.(others words, not mine, but I do believe this ;))

Overall I am confident in my self and who I am, but I just do not see the point in all of this. I have never seen the point in life and have attempted suicide a total of 5 times, and would be the first in line to receive euthanasia if they ever green light it for the severely mentally ill in my country. I have also been addicted to speed, MDMA and sleeping pills to just feel something instead of this dread.

I am a rock for many people but I genuinely don’t have anybody who I can run to when things get hard, I only have my parents but they somehow just get angry and upset with me instead of supporting me. I think this is because they desperately want me to feel okay and just don’t know how to handle me.

Talking therapy has never worked, and after my last therapist tried to convert me to evangelicalism I have lost all faith. (Pun not intended) I am currently on a waiting list for a public health therapist but it is 8 months long and has been that way the last 5 months.

Could this be dysthymia instead of ye olde depression? I have a depression and PTSD diagnosis, I also have an ADHD and NLD diagnosis which are playing part in my overall mental health as well I think. And if this is dysthymia and I could get diagnosed, could this change anything at all? I love the people around me with everything I am and I want to get better just for them, and maybe I can get out of this mindset I’ve had for years and maybe even get better for myself.

Would antipsychotics on top of my SSRI be an idea? I feel like my doctor will prescribe me about anything at this point so I’m open to trying everything.

Sory for the long and messy post, thank you

God I hate this so much.

Most of the time I feel like im kind of just, relying on the momentum of when I have bursts of energy in order to just, do things. If I have something already in progress, sure I can like, hop on it and do some of it, but if it's something that I need to put energy into making that's new or unique then... That's a long shot and a half.

I just want to be able to be, motivated. I want to be able to do things beyond what is required of me or, socially desired or, what have you. Sure, I can enjoy them in the moment, but how is that helping me when I come home and basically enter this hibernation state where literally doing anything is a task in of itself?

The feeling of seeing other people being able to do things alone is enough to make me feel, well, horrible. It's like seeing other people being able to walk, while you're stuck with your leg in a cast. Sure, you can have crutches given to you, and people can help lift you up to do things but... When it comes to doing things yourself it feels like you're S.O.L.

Even just having ideas on things to do is harder than ever. Why have ideas when there's not going to be a way to get them out anyways? Art is a struggle, and if the struggle doesn't feel like there's a reward to it or, an expectation then... Welp.

My only solace is that caffeine is helping that somewhat. I can actually have these bouts of feeling decent enough to put something out into the world (like this!) But after that, I get back into this state of melancholy. Stuck in my own head, sitting back and watching the world go by, all the while pondering how to get back to it in any way.

TL;DR: I have survived, but I have only rarely thrived. What a shame.

I was diagnosed with dysthymia/PDD 6 years ago, yet I still feel like an imposter even in this category.

I tick all the non-energy related symptoms but my sole motivation/drive is to fill the hole in my heart, the emptiness, with something meaningful.

There is no extrinsic meaning to life, but what I am searching for is an intrinsic reason to stay. And to this end, I am trying really hard to fill this void. However, no matter the progress I make, what I achieve or what illusion of meaning I grasp, it never seems to be enough. A Sisyphean fate.

The trouble with 'high-functioning' is that there is no illusion that doing X will make Y better, as you have tried X to no success.

I wonder if there are others like me, or am I alone after all?

The only thing more dehumanizing than hiring someone for pennies to dress up like an animal and hand out flyers is hiring someone for pennies to just be themselves out there on a corner and spin a sign advertising, not even a local destination that an actual human being could help direct someone to, but something so sedating that there’s a risk that drivers fly off the road in a fit of bored stupor. Don’t we have machines for this? There’s a guy in my neighborhood who spins a sign for something that I don’t even remember and I always bring him food because he’s told me that it’s the shittiest job he’s ever had and he’s only doing it because “this is how bad things are out there.” We need an actual tv ad of a depressed guy in a strip mall hating his life? Way to go, Progressive. Keep peddling your wares on the backs of the hopeless.

I’m curious, does anyone know what disorders can be misdiagnosed as dysthymic disorder/persistent depressive disorder?

I.e; you get diagnosed with dysthymia, when in reality the issue is a different disorder.

I'll try to be as brief as possible. I'm a 41 y/o male who had his first severe episode at 18. First sought help at 25 when I was misdiagnosed as Bipolar II. That changed to MDD with atypical features at 36 and it took three years of trial and error before hitting on the desvenlafaxine and nortriptyline cocktail.

Currently, it feels like a can handle a very low stress lifestyle. Living with my parents and working part-time doing food delivery. I can do things like going running for an hour every other day and playing games, reading, etc. for three or four hours a day, but it still feels like my life lacks purpose or meaning. Trying to think about improving my employment situation creates a spiral of negative thoughts and rumination that ends up putting me into a moderate depressive episode for a few days.

Addons I have tried already:

• Atypical antipsychotics (Latuda and Rexulti) Made me fat and even more unmotivated than I am now. Worthless.
• Provigil. Works great for four or five hours but that's it. Tolerance builup means I can only count on it one or two times per week.
• Wellbutrin. Took it for years. Felt like a weak stimulant at best that did nothing once tolerance built up.

What I am considering now:

• Asking my doctor to try an MAOI. Honestly, I don't think my doc will agree since what I'm not severely depressed. Also, I guess I would have to quit the SNRI, which I don't really want to since it does partially work for me.
• Going for a consultation at a ketamine clinic. Expensive but I can afford it. If it actually works and I can go back to a full-time job it would be money well-spent. But I get the impression it's usually for treatment-resistant severe depression.
• Psychotherapy. Just suck it up and do the hard work of finding a therapist who works for me. Therapy never worked for me in the past, but I haven't tried it recently. No matter what I probably should do it anyway, but I want to consider all pharmacological options as well.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. Any advice from someone who has been in a similar situation would be greatly appreciated.

So the following are what i have daily. Please give suggestions, health concerns, dangers, what i should do, what i shouldn't, where am being dumb, where am not etc

Sertraline 100mg, Olanzapine + fluoxetine, Modafinil 200mg, Lamotrigine 200mg x 2, Etizolam 1mg x 2, Zincovit, Vit E, Mucuna pruriens 500mg x 2, Piracetam 3200mg, Vinpocetine 20mg, Encephabol(pyritinol) 100mg, Hydergine(ergoloid mesylate) 1mg, Bacopa, Clonazepam 0.5mg (SOS), Vit D (once a week 60000IU), Gingko Biloba 100mg

I take loads of coffee too throughout the day and i am planning on adding ashwagandha, Shankpushpam, kushmandam, shatavari, vacha and jatamansi. I am also planning on adding an SNRI like desvenlafexine to the stack.

Suggestions, tips, dangers, things i should reduce, things am being reckless about, everything. Please give suggestions.

Hi everyone, it's my first post here and I've discovered this sub only this morning doing some resarch.

I've found out about dysthymia around one year ago. I've sufferend with EDs, depression, anxiety and self-harm in the past. In the last 5/6 years is like my mind is giving up and slowly shutting down. I have not energy, no movitation, I'm always tired and can't do much during the day. I have dreams I want to achieve but no drive to work on them. When I do something I would enjoy in the past I don't feel much, it's like I'm somewhere else. I hear people in their 60s saying they miss the energy they had at my age and I see other 20-somethings being so active doing so much stuff and I wonder whether I'm 60s inside already (nothing against people in their 60s! Just an example!).

Dysthymia really resonated with me. But at the same time I have the same old voice telling me I don't feel bad enough, that I'm just lazy and should just change my lifestyle. Even when I suffered with a bad period of depression it took a while before I realised it because I'm so used to feeling bad that it's the norm. I have sprouts of energy but they don't last and I'm always back at square one.

I was thinking about going on antidepressants. I don't want to waste my life trying to get better by myself and get old without succeeding. I want a rich and full life, not an empty torment. I think antidepressants may help giving me the energy and motivation I need. I found some informationz about Wellbutrin and I think it may be the right one for me. What's your opinion about Wellbutrin? Did it help?

I wanted to share this because I found the ADHD diagnosis much more hopeful. Perhaps, look into this if you can relate. I recommend talking to a psychiatrist as well as doing your own research.

A big part of ADHD that is often overlooked is emotional disregulation and its comorbidity with depression. There’s a huge emotional component to ADHD. Anyway, BOREDOM has always been a trigger for my depression—my persistent, relentless depression. People with adhd need more stimulation in order to complete tasks. In my specific case, I need more stimulation in order to complete tasks, but more importantly I need more stimulation in order to not fall into a pit of depression and retreat to my bed for half the day.

I’m not saying that anyone who thinks they have dysthymia, may actually have ADHD. Everyone’s brain and psychology are different. But, I want to share my experience because I feel lucky that my doc figured out that I had ADHD. I would have never considered it before.

If you do research about ADHD for yourself, keep in mind that the stereotypes don’t apply to everyone. For example, I used to be a great student! Also, ADHD manifests in women differently than men. Some diagnostic criteria is geared toward men and boys. I recommend finding a psychiatrist that is informed in adhd and it’s affect on emotional disregulation.

[40F] Ive been diagnosed with MDD, GAD, PMDD, and likely OCD (she’s also mentioned that but not put it in my chart). This is over the course of 20 years, so I’ve lived with these things a long time. So other than being pretty high functioning for this list of problems, I’m likely dysthymic. I’ve never met anyone with this diagnosis. I’m generally in a state of anhedonia and apathy. I take Wellbutrin for depression and klonopin for anxiety occasionally.

Anyone willing to share their experience or how you knew something “else” was up? I’m just looking for some perspective. What is the treatment for it?

Age 5 feeling of unease awareness Age6 atari2600 cemented my social limitations Age 8 c64 Age 18 amiga Age 24 pc ps1 Age34 crushed by lack of life smoothing buffering credit by global credit crunch. Ended on benefits. Self referred to endocrinologist for hormone check. Self referred to adhd clinic maudsley london uk.
Inconclusive but suggested autism spectrum Energy drained gave up Age34-46 (2020) basic ssri treatment with no effect no withdrawal issues Noticed caffeine has zero effect maybe paradoxical sleep aid or maybe thats just hot drink. Max caffeine dose 10 tspn nescafe no effect.
Sluggish and lethargic.
No illegal drugs dont smoke or drink.

I joined and installed app just now so i could post

Sct /concentration deficit disorder / intention deficit disorder (Russell barkley ) nihilism apathy/ seemed like a good idea at the time... I can sit for hrs no Need to move. Covid mockdown has crushed me further. Internally focussed but shame /externally driven Im an information addict read almost anything in front of me. Highly sensitive person potential. Pacifistic weakling. Mood- reactive/ emotions freely available. Read about 15 posts on here i can agree with all

Tired now lol.

Basically how sluggish is sluggish? Am i adhd pi with dysthymia or sct with dysthymia. Regardless i seem to be $^=$ed up!

11 years ago I was given 50% for "dysthymic disorder with generalized anxiety disorder and ADHD". Should that be several different findings? My anxiety is getting pretty intense, I'd like to get re-evaluated, but I'm scared they'll lower my rating somehow.

Has anyone else gotten a diagnoses with several mental findings in it? Have you gotten them adjusted?

I've ever been a little upset since I've memory of existing. When I was a child I've been thinking "by adult I will be depressed". I'm 23 and I'm functional, but I live in the past and I continuously look at my adolescence. I've a very supporting partner. I've OCD, narcissistic traits, and had a depressive episode last year. This perennial lowly depressed mood maybe cured by SSRIs, but I don't want them since a tried them for two weeks. I'm a student of medicine, that's a paradox, I know. Anyone, in this situation, experienced bupropion/mirtazapine or something else?

I (21F) was just diagnosed with a dysthimic disorder (code F34.1). Probably had it for the last 5 years.

Who else has that and what are your experiences and feelings with it?

I had to learn how to fake normal and hide who I am. I found ba way to seem like everyone else as long as I don't break routine. I have literally thought of suicide everyday for over a decade. People have told me that I lie about being autistic cause I wear the mask too well. I'm smarter than 99% of the people out there and get called attractive but I'm incredibly lonely. I have no trouble getting a girl's phone number but I can only hold their attention for a week or two. I'm incredibly naive and tired of getting used by people pretending to be my friend or interested in me. I could never actually kill myself but everyday I wish something would end it all for me. I wanna die so bad.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Edgar Jacobs is currently being driven insane by the incessant sounds of a leaking pipe spilling dirty water onto the pipes beneath it, rusting them slowly. He has been kept in this dank industrial cellar for what he imagines has been weeks. Time is a difficult thing to process in the normal world, but without the sun or stars, time exists outside Edgar’s consciousness.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The skin around his wrists has been chafed raw; blisters have formed, popped, healed, and formed again. He would’ve died from infection or starvation long ago, but the Doppelganger won’t let him. This thing that wears his face keeps him alive, it peeks in every few hours to make sure.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The world around Edgar has shifted. Once it was bustling with fresh faces and familiar sounds. The streets of New York City provide many wonderful splendors, if you can adjust to the people. He’d welcome it all back, even the smell of rat urine and car exhaust. Looking around, his room is barren. The walls, the pipes, even the floor have all been painted an off-white; it resembles the old antique look of a well-adjusted Victorian home, despite the fresh gloss and nauseating fumes. The only contrast is the dark hole in the wall, behind Edgar’s back, hidden from the Doppelganger.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Sometimes the Doppelganger is nice. He’ll loosen the restraints on Edgar’s arms, let them fall down to his side. Edgar still can’t move; he doesn’t understand why.

“Did you drug me?” He exclaims wildly with fervor. Silence is his answer. The thing with his face only grins, two perfect sets of pure white teeth, whiter than anything Edgar has ever seen, bright too. It grins, but the eyes are despondent.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

On the fifth week, Edgar heard a scratching behind him. His hands are clasped tightly behind his back, poking tentatively into the hole in the wall. There’s a rush of fear, if it’s a rat maybe it’ll help him. Maybe it’ll gnaw through the bindings, or even better maybe it’ll gnaw through his flesh, infect him. The bubonic plague spread through Europe and wiped off 25 million people, one more wouldn’t hurt. The scratching stops and a flat object is placed in his hands.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Edgar doesn’t know it yet, but the paper he’s just been handed reads:

***I don’t know who you are. I don’t know where we are. But you and I, we must be friends. I’ve been here for years, longer than I can remember. I’ve outlived many others. Th

Hi everyone,

So yesterday I saw a psychiatrist I had been referred to by a doctor and psychologist (in collaboration) because it had been suggested to me that a recent low mood might be helped by anti-depressants. I have a really substantial family history of mood disorders and my family have also been encouraging me to ask about medication. The thing is, my low mood is noticeable but not really that bad. It's like pre-menstrual grumpiness but way more often and less predictable. I expected the psychiatrist to get to the end of the appointment and tell me I'd been wasting his time or something...like, to ask why I had even wanted to see him. That's really not what happened. He said he felt I had been dysthymic for essentially my entire life--from age 6 onwards. Given that my earliest memories are from age 5, this is essentially the entirety of my conscious life.

I asked the doctor how he had come to this conclusion. He said that on the depression inventory I had completed, I scored in the "mild" range. You folks might be familiar with the wording on these sorts of questionnaires, which ask things like "in the last two weeks, how often have you felt sad?" with possible responses including things like "I have felt as sad as usual," "I have felt sad more often," "I feel sad nearly all the time," etc. He says my responses were all in the "I'm the same as always" range because I have no idea what it feels like not to have dysthymia. But...couldn't a totally healthy, non-dysthymic person answer that question in the same way? There's no "I'm deliriously happy!" option for response (not that I'd choose that instead...not lately) so that seems like the healthiest answer.

Essentially my question is...if I'm a fish who can't see the water because I've never known anything else, then how could I or anyone recognize dysthymia in myself? Would I even have dysthymia if this is who I've always been as a person? Isn't this my unique "normal"? Essentially, he wants me to take anti-depressants so I can "stop being miserable," but I don't think I'm miserable. I think this is what life is like--it's challenging and has both its ups AND its downs. I'm not sure how 45 minutes of conversation could lead him to pronounce that I've never lived.

So, I'm not hoping for a "second opinion" from you folks, but for the looooong term dysthymics (and everyone else!) I'm hoping you could tell me just how you realized your mood wasn't like everyone else's?

**TL;DR If you've only ever

Ok.. this is going to be a long one (and on a throwaway account for obvious reasons).

I've been married to my wife for little over a year now, we've been together for almost 13 years. We have two children, aged 2 and 6.. and we have a problem:

My wife was always a happy woman, the life of the party and a social beast. But she changed the past few years. Her first pregnancy was really tough on her and while giving birth to our oldest daughter she developed a trauma. When our little girl was 8 months old I started seeing something wrong with the woman i loved. When she played with her child, fed it.. it just didn't look natural, didn't look 'real' . Two months later she confessed that she had the strong feeling that the child wasn't hers. That our girl was switched at birth. Another thing she confessed to was that she was having very violent images about our little girl. Someone entering the room and stabbing her, how she fell down the stairs. She was never the person doing it, but she had these images during the entire day. Eventually she was diagnosed with post-natal depression and got therapy. That she quickly ended 3 months later with a "i can handle this"-attitude. I believed her, but slowly during the following years she changed. More and more she started stating things like:

 

"If i had known it would be like this I would have never opted for a child.. i love her with all my heart.. but if i could i would reset time"..

Or

"I would never do it because i'm not brave enough, but i have the urge to pick a tall building and just end it all".

 

She got into therapy again and slowly rebuilt her positive flow.. or so i thought. During these times i noticed that she stopped talking to me about her negative thoughts if i admitted how much she hurt me with them. Rationally i could explain her words and behavior , emotionally something dark grew in me. If me and our little girl were good enough for her... she wouldn't have said those things. (yeah.. i know.. it was a slow process.. but it tore me up inside).

 

We had a 2nd girl and this time she did feel it. For about 3 or 4 months .. then the shame hit her that she hadn't felt this with our oldest girl and in secret she started having dark thoughts again. It turned out that her thoughts of suicide went from "unwanted" to "welcome" . It was the last thing she thought before going to bed and the first thing on her mind when waking up. But for the outside world she re

dysthymia, depression, dysthymic disorder, mood disorders and dysthymia. Dysthymia is a state of chronic sadness characterized by symptoms of depression that last for several days. The word dysthymia comes from Greek and means "bad mood". Two forms of depression are defined: severe depression and dysthymic disorder. While the main depression consists of one or more depressive episodes that contrast with the normal functioning of a person, dysthymia disorder features symptoms of depression less severe but chronic.

In May 2013, it is called Poisoning, as well as chronic severe depression, and persistent depressive disorder. Both types of depression are characterized by specific ones.

Dysthymic disorder is characterized by chronic depressive mood for most of the day for at least two years, with no history of mania. During these periods of depressed mood, at least two of the following symptoms exist: anorexia , excessive appetite (hyperactivity), insomnia, hyperactivity , low energy, fatigue, low self-esteem, difficulty concentrating or making decisions. In addition, these symptoms should cause clinically significant weakness in social, occupational or other important areas of work and should not be caused by any other health problem or the physiological effects of the substance. The asymmetrical periods cannot last for more than two consecutive months. Dysthymia is also called dysthymic disorder, neurodegenerative depression, neurodegenerative depression or chronic depression.

It can be wrong in anyone, but two or three times more common in women than in men. Physical and psychological symptoms of dysthymic disorder are lower than those appearing in people with major depressive disorder. Its symptoms persist gradually for many years. An early manifestation of the disease is seen if the dysthymia appears before the age of 21 and late if it occurs in 21 years or after 7. Its prevalence ranges between 3% and 6% among Canadian adults over 18 years of age 1, which is slightly less than 3 Among adults in the United States. The prevalence of one-year dysthymic disorder is estimated at between 0.8% and 3.1% 12.13%.

The definition and related features of dysthymia are similar to those of major depression: the symptoms are the same, but chronic and relatively mild (hence, not severe enough to meet severe depression criteria). In addition, the person with convulsions is generally more functional than the person with severe depression but is particularly handicapped

I'm now accepting that I have this, and it sucks. Treatment didn't work for me in the past but I'm going to try again. Sometimes, whether people know me very well or only know me casually, and whether they know I'm dealing with this or not, they still judge me based on my symptoms and struggles with this disorder. I think my biggest issue right now is that, yes, I can be introverted, quick to anger, stressed, etc., but I don't want to be, and that's not all I am.

Hi I often experience wanting to pursue a goal - for example, lose weight. Some days I eat well. Most days, I intend to, but what happens is I get these dark desperate hopeless feelings about life, about myself, existential angst, loneliness. And I think eh screw it, I'll get a sub and a few slices of pizza and some ice cream, at least I'll get to enjoy something, I tell myself. Then I feel lousy, fat, tired, angry at myself for not using self control, feel worse than before and this has gone on for years now. Anyone relate? Anyone able to solve this riddle?

• DOI/PMID/ISBN: PMID: 10221284

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Hello I’m F23 and was recently diagnosed with dysthymia. I’ve had some major depressive episodes during the past 5 years and meds sometimes stop working. Could someone care to explain more about how my life is going to be from now on? I go to therapy weekly and my psychologist says I’m doing very well but sometimes I just feel terrible, for no reason. This depressive episodes gradually get worst and they don’t really have a motive, they just occur and then the meds need to be changed. I would really appreciate any advice or insight on the matter, sending love

Link here: http://www.depressionny.com/q&a.htm

This Q and A by researchers from Columbia University seems to be spot on, backed by medical facts, and very detailed.

Someone suggested (from hearing about my symptons), that I might have dysthymia. When I looked it up online, most of the websites just had random lists of bulletpoints and very generic descriptions of dysthymia, with no clear definition of what it actually is. Also lots of hokey "treatments", with no science to back up the claims. However, while reading this Q and A I basically thought to myself "this is exactly how I feel" with every sentence that I read, and the description of possible treatments is very factual and backed by science and medicine.

For me, especially this paragraph stood out, as it describes 100% how I feel every day 24/7, in addition to the common symptoms listed everywhere:

> Chronic depression is a state of chronic 'stress activation': the body’s stress-response systems are revving nonstop. Hormones (like cortisol) stream through the body, preparing you for dangers which may never materialize. The effects of this long-term “activation of the stress response systems” are devastating for the brain and the body. The body responds by increasing adrenaline, by elevations in blood pressure, by increased blood levels of sugars and fats.

Also, the fact that not all sufferers from dysthymia are suicidal was spot-on. I for one am not suicidal, although I've had very mild thoughts in that direction in the past.

All in all, well worth the (long) read.

Somebody tell me please is there way to treat this illness? I tried alot of antidepressant but thay didn't help :( ,, i feel like my body and my brain is burning:(

I've considered that I might have dysthymia for years, but now that it's starting to really seriously interfere with my life, I'm taking this consideration more seriously.

I meet all the criteria, I've been consistently sad for years, probably since I was thirteen (I'm 23 now), with maybe one or two major depressive episodes throughout that whole duration (and one incident when I was in middle school, though I can't remember what age exactly, where I essentially had a breakdown and couldn't set foot outside my house without bursting into tears for a whole week). I'm sad more often than I'm not, I've never gone more than a month without being overwhelmingly sad at some point, I have really low self-esteem/self-image, when I'm feeling particularly sad I tend to start eating more, and I have much less energy/want to sleep more.

I have been so... apathetic about everything recently. I have graduate school applications due starting on 12/1 and I still haven't even started my writing sample (which needs to be 30 pages long) because I just have absolutely no drive. This isn't necessarily because I'm sad, but moreso because I've felt pretty numb recently. Feeling numb, in turn, usually leads to feeling sad, because I dislike not feeling much of anything, and I dislike how much I am disappointing myself. It makes me feel broken.

I do feel happy at times, but it is usually only when I'm around people, and it's usually fleeting. I'm not even sure it's really happiness I'm feeling, it's just that I'm much less sad and presenting with the appearance of happiness because I don't like bumming other people out.

I feel extremely alone and isolated in the world. I have very few friends any more, though I have a fair number of acquaintances that I spend time with. They are almost all people from work, and I mostly interact with them at work, though a few of us do have a weekly gathering outside of work as well. Even so, I don't feel very close to these people. They are accepting, but we're not close. I don't feel like I can talk to them about serious or personal things. None of our conversations ever go beyond observational conversations. Our weekly gathering is a movie night, and obviously we talk about the movie we watched, but we never talk about much in any of our personal lives. I miss having close friends that I can really talk to about anything.

I get really sad, too, about being single. Not only do I not really have any friends any more, but I hav

Those of you with Avoidant Personality Disorder (also known as Anxious Personality Disorder), could you please share your experiences? How did you come to the conclusion that you have AvPD? Were you diagnosed? How has it affected your life? When did you notice it? etc...

I am not officially diagnosed with anything, but I've been struggling with something for the past 5 or so years. I know labelling isn't always beneficial, but I'd like to be able to understand, at least to some degree, the what/how's of my mental and emotional life. I recognize the dangers of self-diagnosis, but I'm thinking that I might have one or some of the following: Avoidant Personality Disorder, Recurrent Brief Depression, Dysthymia, or other personality disorders categorized under DSM-V's Cluster C.

The issue is that I consider myself "well off" mentally and emotionally when compared to some of the more severe cases described on this subreddit. I'm not really sure where "small" (for lack of a better word) mental and emotional problems stop, and serious, diagnosable problems begin. Thus, I'd like to hear from you guys (if this is relevant to you) so that I can make some comparisons.

Thank you.

It seems that even when I am not in a mood episode I still have some lingering depression (or so my therapist says- dysthymia). Currently on Lamictal, Lithium and Abilify, we are looking at adding an antidepressant. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around what the different types are and what effects I can expect from them. What are your experiences with antidepressants (which kind) and are these safe for long term treatment (some can cause mania). I've heard that the use of antidepressants for bipolar is controversial and can carry risks. Just trying to be informed before my next appt with my pdoc. Links to resources would be much appreciated as well.

It's always worse in the winter--then I'll be dysthymic for a week or so. In the summer I'll only randomly be depressed for a day or two.

It's been getting worse in the last year. Like I used to be able to make myself go out and get stuff done even though I'd be a little down and not fun when I did it, but nowadays I can't get myself off the couch and I can't pay attention in school. I just walk around like I just walked 30 miles. And I get suicidal ideation very briefly and feel completely hopeless for the future.

But it's only for a short period of time and then I'm back to my normal or happy self.

I know this disqualifies me from a depression diagnosis but I still feel like no one I know gets this?? So is it normal? Is it just something people don't talk about?

Is there some kind of disorder in between dysthymia and normal that is something that only lasts for a few days or so?

TL;DR is there a kind of depression that comes and goes for a few days every few weeks and back to normal or is this something that everyone without clinical depression experiences?

Just letting you all know because it helps a lot when you actually recognize it happening. When you recognize it, you realize that the world really ISN'T about to end and life will pick back up soon.

I'm smiling right now because my recovery coach was right. I already feel better.

was just asked about an upcoming family trip somewhere warm in april, with 2 couples and myself. the thought of having to be “on” for a week, having to carry on conversations, having enough energy for the things they want to do….. it seems too overwhelming. i honestly just had a breakdown thinking about it and picturing it.

it wouldn’t be the first time i’ve intentionally missed out on things like this. i once chose not to attend a music festival with friends bc i felt too depressed & would make everybody miserable.