Diagnosis of dysthima

[Maxtrem]

Yesterday I went to see a psychologist and at the end of the session he told me that I seem to have dysthymia which would be an attenuated form of depression that settles in over time. And that I could be in this condition since adolescence or even childhood. It would have been a form of coping mechanism. 

Unfortunately there is not much information online about dysthymia and my next appointment is in 3 weeks. I was wondering if anyone here has had this diagnosis and how they dealt with it? 

Thanks in advance!

[Spring Butterfly]

Unless I'm not understanding it means "persistent mild depression" which diagnosed or not probably most of us here are familiar with what that means and how it shows up in life. Personally after the doctors could not find any medical cause for my extreme fatigue they were suggesting depression. They recommended meds. First I was still deep in the FOG and didn't see myself as depressed one little bit. Quite happy actually. Second I didn't like the sound of meds for the rest of my life or what the side affects would be. So I started digging, landed here, began healing emotionally, setting small boundaries, practicing medium chill. As I came Out of the FOG the nightmare, panic attacks, extreme fatigue, ALL of it dissipated. Looking back my body was shutting down, trying to protect me.

I'd recommend until you your next appointment dig deep into the Toolbox at the top of the forum, especially the What To Do section. Do everything there as much as possible and seek support in the community here. We are here to cheer you on, to tell you there is light at the end of the tunnel, you can heal, you can walk Out of the FOG.

[M0009803]

I was not diagnosed with this condition officially.

But that is what I had for about 10 years (self-diagnosed after much self-reflection)

I had zero motivation.    Everything took enormous effort because I had such little emotional energy left.

You usually end up this way when you have a caregiver who is constantly critical of you.  The cummulative effect over time destroys your self-esteem and self-confidence, which can then lead to disthymia.

When that happens you tend to isolate yourself, sleep a lot, binge eat, you stop trying (academically and socially), watch a lot of TV etc.. 

The only thing that seemed to make it marginally better was avoiding contact with the person who is constantly critical (mother in my case), exercising (good for mood), and forcing myself to socialise (this was really hard due to lack of energy).

Problem is even short-term exposure (VLC) causes damage that slows down any kind of emotional recovery, because by the time you have developed disthymia you are severely damaged mentally.

[moglow]

You usually end up this way when you have a caregiver who is constantly critical of you.  The cummulative effect over time destroys your self-esteem and self-confidence, which can then lead to disthymia.

When that happens you tend to isolate yourself, sleep a lot, binge eat, you stop trying (academically and socially), watch a lot of TV etc.. 

The only thing that seemed to make it marginally better was avoiding contact with the person who is constantly critical (mother in my case), exercising (good for mood), and forcing myself to socialise (this was really hard due to lack of energy).

Well. Just, well. If this isn't me in a big ole nutshell... Cept instead of binge eating I pretty much have no appetite at all. And forcing myself to socialize usually only pisses me off and I end up hunkering down further away from everyone. And then I get worse.


Keep talking it out, at least here if not in real life. A lot of people don't get how debilitating it can be. Having a diagnosis is all well and good - we still have to keep whittling away and find what works for us, improves our lives. If being away from the FOO does that, DO that.

[daughter]

I rec'd this diagnosis from psychiatrist at time I sought therapy immediately after trigger-episode for my NC decision, after particularly horrible behavior/statements from both my npd parents.  Was told "mild persistent depression", likely caused by emotional trauma (parents), that I was admirably resilient, and should maintain NC with no further contact.  Reluctant to prescribe SSRI, because I was coping, functioning without visible issues, and in therapy. 

Now decade+ of strict NC is alone tremendous help for me, but reality of my emotionally traumatic past familial experiences remains there.

[Hilltop]

I recently watched the you tube video Brain Fog and Exhaustion after Narcissistic Abuse by Caroline Strawson.  It was about how long term abuse affects the way our brain functions, it was really eye opening and one of her suggestions is NC to give the body time to heal.   This was new for me and I really didn't understand just how damaging this type of behaviour is.  Its interesting that others have also been given advice to remain NC.

M0009803 you have just described me and my life.  Even down to the binge eating, I have little energy left to deal with anything and TV is my go to to simply unwind and escape from daily life.  It's also my mother and father who are the critical caregivers.  How are you doing now?

Thank you Maxtrem for posting this, I have never heard of Dysthima before but after reading the replies I can relate so much to what is written.  I have just gone NC as I am worried that any contact I do have there may be something said or done that is critical and at the moment I am not in a place where I think I can handle that.  I suppose it takes time to work out what works for us.  The support on this forum has helped a ton.

[M0009803]

I recently watched the you tube video Brain Fog and Exhaustion after Narcissistic Abuse by Caroline Strawson.  It was about how long term abuse affects the way our brain functions, it was really eye opening and one of her suggestions is NC to give the body time to heal.   This was new for me and I really didn't understand just how damaging this type of behaviour is.  Its interesting that others have also been given advice to remain NC.

M0009803 you have just described me and my life.  Even down to the binge eating, I have little energy left to deal with anything and TV is my go to to simply unwind and escape from daily life.  It's also my mother and father who are the critical caregivers.  How are you doing now?

I am doing much better now.   After NC, things really got much better but it was a long road.  Many ups and downs.

TV (in my case) was my escape into kind of imaginary life were happy endings existed even when the characters were imperfect.

It made me feel better about the future, which at the time, was something I really needed.

Oddly enough, my wife also turned out to be a huge fan of Gimore Girls (I watched the episodes of this series so many times I practically had the lines memorised), so we would sometimes relax at home and watch a few episodes here and there.   

These days I don't watch much TV or Netflix, just the occasional interesting series.  I now mostly travel and spend time with my wife & infant daughter.

[Hilltop]

M0009803, I am glad you are doing much better.  I really like to watch Netflix and love to escape into different series.  I am trying to get out more for a walk, bike ride or swim which I feel great after.  I am doing much better now with greatly reduced contact.  I am starting to feel positive about the future which is a great change for me.

I am glad you were able to move forward.