Dysthymia (Noun)
Meaning
Mild chronic depression; "I thought she had just been in a bad mood for thirty years, but the doctor called it dysthymia".
Classification
Nouns denoting natural processes.
Examples
- The patient's persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness were eventually diagnosed as dysthymia, a mild but chronic form of depression.
- After years of struggling with low self-esteem and lack of motivation, she finally sought help and was diagnosed with dysthymia.
- Dysthymia can be difficult to recognize, as its symptoms are often mistaken for a person's normal personality or temperament.
- The doctor explained that dysthymia was a type of depression that could last for years, even decades, if left untreated.
- Her family had always thought she was just a pessimistic person, but it turned out she had been living with dysthymia for most of her life.