Does anyone here suffer from Dysthymia? [View all]
For those who don't know:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysthymia
Basically it's constant unrelenting low grade depression, often punctuated with episodes of extreme depression. What separates it from normal clinical depression is that Dysthymia tends not to lift. Usually people with regular clinical depression have episodes of extreme depression that last some months after which they return to a relatively normal emotional balance. People with Dysthymia basically never return to an even emotional balance, they are always depressed.
Looking back on my life I'm pretty sure I suffer from it. I've been diagnosed with Depression and social anxiety but never specifically Dysthymia. I can't remember a solid chunk of my life more than 3 years long during which I was not either depressed or seriously anxious (I'm 30 now). In some respects it has completely ruined my life, though compared to many I have never (or perhaps I should say yet to) hit rock bottom.
What is your experience with Dysthymia, if any?