The diagnosis process of dysthymia and depression is quite the same nowadays. The process is called dual diagnosis concurrent treatment. Though the treatment is a counterpart of sequential treatment, it is more effective because it has a low relapse rate. Further, the diagnosis procedure involves a mental health question-answer session that should be aligned with the DSM-5 outline.
The signs that indicate that you need a dysthymia and depression diagnosis are as follows,
- Depressed state for a maximum of a day
- Depressed state for more than 2 years
- Low energy level
- Frequent fatigue
- Low concentration
- Disruption in the sleep cycle, etc.
In addition, for MDD diagnosis, doctors may check if you have other severe conditions. Further, they will also ask you if you have faced mania or hypomania earlier.
1. Therapy for Depression
Your doctor can recommend two types of therapies, along with medication. These are as follows:
Psychotherapy or talk therapy is based on helping the patient with conversations. For this, a skilled psychiatrist will ask you about your mental state, personal history, behaviours, personal problems, goals and obligations, etc. Therefore, depending on your state, a psychiatrist will prescribe you medication or other solutions.
CBT is also a type of psychotherapy that finds the solution by analysing your moods and thoughts. Therefore, the therapy concentrates more on judging behaviour to get to the root cause of the disorder. According to the National Health Service, CBT needs only 20 sessions; however, you can continue it according to your requirements.
2. Medication
For treating dysthymia and depression, you will have anti-depressants such as -
These drugs increase the serotonin level in the brain, thus helping in depressive conditions. Examples of this type of drug are fluoxetine and sertraline. In addition, the drugs have lesser side effects.
These drugs are also responsible for increasing serotonin levels, besides also increasing the level of norepinephrine. Therefore, this is sometimes considered a dual reuptake inhibitor. Examples of this drug are desvenlafaxine and levomilnacipran.
These are more advanced types of drugs with more side effects; however, they work more prominently. Examples of these drugs are amitriptyline, amoxapine, imipramine, etc.
Apart from medications and therapies, you can also follow some home remedies to get natural help with depression. Further, these can be maintained from the early stage to avoid costly treatments and adverse situations.
3. Home Remedies
The home remedies that you can follow are as follows -
Always try to keep yourself in a routine to avoid distraction. It will help you to stay focused and relieve you from mental stress.
Exercise is not only important for body strength, but it also brings the mind freshness. Further, it helps in secretion of beneficial chemicals such as endorphins. In addition, exercises boost brain functionality.
Healthy eating naturally keeps your body toxin free and freshens up you from the core of your body. Depression is likely to cause an eating disorder that should be controlled with healthy eating.
Less sleep worsens the depressive situation. Therefore, try to fulfil your sleep if you face a depressive state. It will help you to stay fresh and energetic.
If you are depressed, you must shift your focus from sad things to something new. You can try to learn new things and participate in new activities to stay dynamic and productive. Further, it will add extra energy and happiness to your daily routine.