Conditions · Mood
Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) — the quiet, durable kind
What it means when low mood stops feeling like an episode and starts feeling like weather.
Cleveland Clinic7 min read
Persistent depressive disorder (formerly dysthymia) is a chronic, lower-intensity form of depression that lasts at least two years in adults. Cleveland Clinic's explainer is one of the clearer general-audience treatments of why the chronicity itself is the diagnostic feature, not the severity.
Useful for readers who have been told their long, grinding flatness is 'just personality' — and for clinicians considering whether to look past acute episodes.
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A note on this article
Mental Hum publishes general education, not medical advice. If something here reflects your own experience, please consider speaking to a clinician. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.