Conditions and diagnosesExplainerMood and depression
Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia): the quiet, durable kind
What it means when low mood stops feeling like an episode and starts feeling like weather.
Cleveland Clinic7 min readSelected and edited by Dean ShabanAdded
Persistent depressive disorder (formerly dysthymia) is a chronic, lower-intensity form of depression that lasts at least two years in adults. Cleveland Clinic's explainer is one of the clearer general-audience treatments of why the chronicity itself is the diagnostic feature, not the severity.
Useful for readers who have been told their long, grinding flatness is 'just personality', and for clinicians considering whether to look past acute episodes.
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A note on this article
Mental Hum publishes general education, not medical advice. If something here reflects your own experience, please consider speaking to a clinician. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.