n. a permanent state of mildly lowered mood. This never reaches the severity of clinical *depression but it can impair the person’s quality of life. It is often associated with *emotionally unstable personality disorder. Treatment options include *psychotherapy and *SSRIs in high doses. —dysthymic adj.
n. 1. a mental state characterized by excessive sadness. 2. a mood disorder characterized by the pervasive and persistent presence of core and somatic symptoms on most days for at least two weeks. Core symptoms include low mood and loss or impairment of motivation, energy, interest, and enjoyment. Somatic symptoms include impaired memory and concentration, loss of appetite and libido, insomnia, early morning wakening (more than two hours earlier than normal), physical and mental activity that is either agitated and restless or slow and retarded, and a diurnal variation of mood (usually patients feel particularly depressed in the mornings). Additional symptoms include automatic negative thoughts, pessimistic views of oneself, the future, and the present (Beck’s triad of depression), suicidal *ideation, tearfulness, *alexithymia, and a poor frustration tolerance. A single period of experiencing these symptoms is called a major depressive episode; experiencing one or more of such episodes (without mania) is known as major depression, major depressive disorder, or clinical depression. Depression may or may not be triggered by stressful events or trauma. Risk factors include genetic and social elements (e.g. poverty, lack of confidants, substance abuse) and psychological elements (e.g. the presence of personality disorder, a history of abuse or *dysthymia). Treatment is with *antidepressant drugs, *cognitive behavioural therapy, and/or *psychotherapy. Severe cases may need *electroconvulsive therapy. The course of the illness can be a single episode or recurrent episodes, or it may become chronic. —depressive adj.... depression
n. (pl. neuroses) any long-term mental or behavioural disorder in which contact with reality is retained and the condition is recognized by the sufferer as abnormal: the term and concept originated from Freud. A neurosis essentially features anxiety or behaviour exaggeratedly designed to avoid anxiety. Defence mechanisms against anxiety take various forms and may appear as phobias, obsessions, compulsions, or sexual dysfunctions. In recent classifications, the disorders formerly included under the neuroses have been renamed. The general term is now anxiety disorder; hysteria has become *conversion disorder; amnesia, fugue, and depersonalization are *dissociative disorders; obsessional neurosis is now known as *obsessive–compulsive disorder; and depressive neurosis has become *dysthymia. Psychoanalysis has proved of little value in curing these conditions; *behaviour therapy and *SSRIs are effective in many cases. —neurotic adj.... neurosis
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