Mr. X's Dysthymic Disorder: A Case Study

This paper will focus on depressive disorders, and it will describe what they are, how they manifest themselves, what causes them and/or what makes certain individuals susceptible to the disorder as compared to others. This piece will also describe the most common treatment practices, and the effectiveness of these treatments. It will conclude by offering some testimonials from individuals who suffer from depressive disorders as well as some additional commentary about depressive disorders and their implications/challenges.

Persistent Depressive Disorder is a milder form of major depressive disorder that’s called dysthymia. Dysthymia is mild and nagging and lasts for years. Complaints of depression are usually intertwined with their personality structure, and that can come off as whining and complaining. Even though it is not as severe as major depressive disorder, depressed mood and low self-esteem can affect the persons social and occupational functioning. In Brian’s case, it is reported that he does have depressed moods, and low self-esteem but it is more severe then dysthymia.

Mood is dysthymic. Insight is improved with regard to his pain and fear avoidant behavior.

Based on the DSM-V (2013) diagnostic criteria Jose experiences Major Depressive Disorder 296.32 (F33.1), recurrent, moderate. The client experiences the following symptoms that have been present during the same 2-week period and represent a change from previous functioning; depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feels sad, empty, and hopeless) or observations made by others (e.g. appears tearful). Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick). He is unable to cope with negative thoughts (i.e. worthlessness) and with depressive mood/symptoms (i.e. hopelessness, isolation, sadness) for about a year. Jose also experiences insomnia nearly every day by only sleeping 4-5 hours per night. He experiences fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day, having trouble getting up in the morning from bed. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, nearly every day since he entered high school. These symptoms cause clinically significant distress especially it impairs Jose’s academic performance, participation at religious activities and helping with house chores/homework. In addition, the episode is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance or other medical condition. The

Many people around the world suffer from depression. "Depression is the most common mental health disorder after anxiety disorders"("Depression | Resources To Recover.") Depression is a terrible thing to have especially when it makes people have, Major Depressive Disorder, Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia), Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and Postpartum Depression. "Major depressive disorder involves a consistently depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities for a period of at least two weeks"("Depression | Resources To Recover.").

Over the years, Dysthymia has been misdiagnosed and mistaken for depression by professionals in the psychology field (Gubin and Sultanov, 2012). Alexandrova argued that there has been a lack of research done for those who have been diagnosed with drug addiction and Dysthymic Disorder (as cited in Gubin and Sultanov, p. 64). If Dysthymic Disorder

Dysthymic Disorder is a long-term form of mild depression (lasting two or more years). Like mild depression, most sufferers never seek help as they don't believe their symptoms are severe enough. Also like mild depression, the symptoms of dysthymic depression don't usually have a huge impact on the sufferers day-to-day life. But when the long-term results from the depression are considered, the impact can be huge. People who suffer from dysthymic depression often can't remember a time when they weren't depressed.

Persistent depressive disorder (also called dysthymia) is a constant depressive disorder with episodes of major depression followed by episodes of milder symptoms that last for two years.

segawa's dystonia, which is a hereditary movement disorder. In addition, L-DOPA can also be used for treatment of restless leg syndrome. Formation of aspartame by transformation using thermolysin is another such example where thermolysin can be synthesized by Bacillus stearothermophilus and Thermoactinomycetes thalpophilus. Aspartame is used as an artificial sweetner. In addition to being an antioxidant, carnosine has recently been discovered to be a natural anti-glycating agent as well i.e. it can react with carbonyl groups on proteins thereby delaying cell ageing or senescence. Carnosine also fights against cellular damage by helping the body to get rid of toxic metals, a process known as chelation. Excessive levels of these pro-oxidative metals (such as copper, zinc) and toxic heavy metals (such as lead, mercury, and nickel) have been linked to many illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, autism, Parkinson’s, dementia and schizophrenia, where carnosine can be used as an supplement.Organisms like Ochrobactrum anthropi, Sphingosinicella xenopeptidilytica are found to produce

Major life stressors, chronic illness, medications, and relationship or work problems may cause Dysthymia. Now that you know a little bit more about Dysthymia, you are probably wondering, what are some of the symptoms? Some of the symptoms of Dysthymia are: sadness or depressed mood most of the day or almost everyday, loss of enjoyment of things that were once pleasurable, major change in weight ( weight loss or gaining weight), insomnia or excessive sleep throughout the day, Fatigue, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness or guilt almost everyday, thoughts about death or suicide. Now that you know some of the symptoms of Dysthymia, you might wonder, How are you diagnosed with it? A mental health specialist or a psychologist, generally makes the diagnosis based on the symptoms of the person. There is no blood, x-ray, or any other lab test that can find out if you have Dysthymia. Now that that’s clear, the final question is… Is it curable!? Although Dysthymia is a severe illness; it is also very treatable. As with any chronic illnesses, early diagnosis and medical treatment may reduce the intensity and duration of symptoms, and also reduce the likelihood of it developing into major depression. To treat Dysthymia doctors may use psychotherapy, more commonly known as, seeing a therapist, along with taking antidepressants. Dysthymia can be treated by a primary care physician. Now, last but not least is “Genetic Depression”. It has been known that depressive illness can run in families. Genes that we inherit from our parents can determine lots of things such as gender, hair and eye color. Our genes also determine which illnesses we may be vulnerable to at some point in our lives. Every cell in our body contains around 50,000 to 100,000 genes. They are all made up of DNA ( deoxyribonucleic acid). Genes are located on chromosomes within the nucleus of

Depression is a normal emotional reaction to perceived loss and hopelessness (Segal, Williams, & Teasdale, 2002). There are a number of different types of depression such as chronic depression, manic depression and the primary focus of this essay Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). MDD is a clinical depression, which is more chronic and more severe compared to other types of depression. It significantly disrupts the individual’s ability to meet the normal demands of life. According to many clinicians, clinical depression should be considered as a medical illness in need of medical intervention. Other mental health professionals believe this is an overstatement of the role of physiology and the

The greatest challenge I faced was with a young girl around 15 years old who suffered from a severe case of muscular dystrophy. Every week we would lift her onto the horse using a hydraulic lift and hold her body weight up throughout the entire ride. It was physically straining and, safety-wise, immensely stressful for both the volunteers and the poor girl herself. The lesson instructors proceeded with the sessions because she had shown remarkable strength and growth in previous lessons, but as the severity of the disease progressed it became difficult. On one of the final session days, I noticed that she was I making slight unpleasant facial expressions; therefore, I confronted the leader and requested we stop the lesson. Nevertheless, The

Dysthymic Disorder causes you to have a low mood for as long as a year, sometimes even longer. What this means is that you will feel sad a lot of the time. The symptoms you would experience would be sadness, feeling tired very often, changes in eating habits, and changes in sleeping habits. About 2% of the American population has this type of depression. The best treatment would be therapy as opposed to medication, although combining the two might result in a faster improvement.

Dysthymia is another form of depression, but it’s not as severe. This disorder can be a chronic illness that is long lasting. Dysthymia occurs every day for one year or less in teens. Some of the symptoms are fatigue, appetite deprivation and low self- esteem. The Primary Care Journal states that dysthymia only affects 3 percent of the population and it is associated with functional impairment. (www.en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/dysthymia). Individuals who are diagnosed with dysthymia usually don’t notice that they are experiencing depression. They are able to carry out their daily lives.

The term depression is widely misused in today’s society. All human beings experience periods in life where they are sad for a relatively short period of time, which is considered normal. Those who experience sadness for extended periods may be suffering from depression. Two terms used to reference the classifications of depression, are Major Depressive Disorder, and Dysthymia. Individual diagnosis of these classifications is dependent on the length of time, and severity of symptoms experienced by the individual. The causes for these depressive states can be due to genetics or the insufficient production of neurotransmitters, which provide the brain with the data necessary to regulate one's psychological well being. Two examples