Is Dysthymia a High Functioning Depression?

Is Dysthymia a High Functioning Depression? That's what I am talking about in this video. High functioning depression is a term people will use to describe the degree of depression someone has. That is usually determined by how they function in their day to day life. Perhaps they’re still able to go to work, go to school take care of the family etc. This is in contrast to a low functioning depressed person who may not be able to get out of bed, may not be bathing maybe failing classes because they just can't pull it together enough to do these things. So high functioning is more of a descriptive term and not really an official diagnosis.

Dysthymic disorder has been renamed persistent depressive disorder. I discuss the criteria for persistent depressive disorder in this video. Someone with dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder) can also have episodes of major depression on top of their dysthymia.

One big difference between dysthymia and depression is with major depression, you need five of nine symptoms. With dysthymia, you only need two of six symptoms. So, with major depression you need more symptoms. I discuss the full criteria for major depression and how to know if you are depressed in a previous video you can watch here: https://youtu.be/XCAQHpXqIA8

#mentalhealth #depression

Disclaimer: All of the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos or getting answers to comments/questions, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, perhaps these videos can help prepare you for your discussion with your doctor.

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Видео Is Dysthymia a High Functioning Depression? канала Dr. Tracey Marks