What Are the DSM-IV Criteria for Dysthymic Disorder?
What Are the DSM-IV Criteria for Dysthymic Disorder?What are the official diagnostic criteria for the mood disorder dysthymia.Answer: According to the DSM-IV, dysthymia is characterized by an overwhelming yet chronic state of depression, exhibited by a depressed mood for most of the days, for more days than not, for at least 2 years. (In children and adolescents, mood can be irritable and duration must be at least 1 year.) The person who suffers from this disorder must not have gone for more than 2 months without experiencing two or more of the following symptoms: • poor appetite or overeating • insomnia or hypersomnia • low energy or fatigue • low self-esteem • poor concentration or difficulty making decisions • feelings of hopelessness In addition, no Major Depressive Episode has been present during the first two years (or one year in children and adolescents) and there has never been a Manic Episode, a Mixed Episode, or a Hypomanic Episode, and criteria have never been met for Cyclo
