A Clarification - Depression VS Dysthymia

On a forum I go on recently this was posted by a good sir.

"There have been a few people who have been told that are not depressed because they don't show signs of Major Depressive Disorder. However this is not the only form of depression there is an entire spectrum ranging from Psychotic Depression to Psychotic Mania. These are, to my understanding, the extreme ends of the spectrum and are often readily apparent and diagnosable. There are however spectrum disorders much closer to what is called "stable" and among these is Dysthymia. And what I have observed is that lots of people have posted describing symptoms of Dysthymia and asking if they are depressed only to be told that they are fine, as anyone with depression can speak to be told you are fine when you aren't is an awful feeling and it is my hope that this post can help address some of those issues.

"Dysthymia is what was formerly called depressive personality and is a chronic disorder that persists for multiple years it is characterized by the following symptoms "low energy and drive, low self-esteem, and a low capacity for pleasure in everyday life. Mild degrees of dysthymia may result in people withdrawing from stress and avoiding opportunities for failure. In more severe cases of dysthymia, people may even withdraw from daily activities and isolate from society. They will usually find little pleasure in usual activities and pastimes."

"Because Dysthymia manifests itself as a long term permanently lower state, and typically lacks major depressive episodes it can go untreated and undiagnosed for years. Dysthymia can often seem like it is nothing at all since it can seem like everyone has the some problem of apathy and general malaise. For myself the Dysthymia was so long term and prevalent that I truly thought that that was how everybody felt, and I didn't realize that other people weren't always fighting to be positive.
If someone reads this and thinks they may have Dysthymia I urge them to contact a psychiatrist and just talk to them, they are trained to help you and they won't judge you. Proper treatment can make all the difference in the world."

I was told by my councillor recently I suffered from Dysthymia and I suppose it fits me better than depression does. However it all comes under the umbrella heading of Depression and if you turn around to someone and say, "Hey, I suffer from Dysthymia." You'll probably just get a 'WTF?' look in return. Whereas if you say "Hey, I suffer from depression." People will understand you better. So from here on I will post under the heading of depression but just know that it's just Dysthymia I suffer from. Very similar, but quite different. But people who suffer across the spectrum can all use the same solutions and relate to each other, just a different depths.

Relieved-she-found-words-to-clear-it-up
Samantha.