Diagnosis of dysthymia can be difficult because of the subtle nature of the symptoms and patients can often hide them in social situations, making it challenging for others to detect symptoms.
Emotional numbness may be outwardly observed in forms such as monotony of voice or lack of reaction to significant life events However, this may be mistaken for symptoms of different disorders that manifest themselves in similar ways.
It has been suggested that the best way to prevent double depression is by treating the dysthymia.
A combination of antidepressants and cognitive therapies can be helpful in preventing major depressive symptoms from occurring.
It is vital to look for signs of major depression, panic disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, alcohol and substance misuse and personality disorder.This can be a useful symptom for mental health services providers to focus on when working with patients to treat the condition.Additionally, cognitive therapies can be effective for working with people with double depression in order to help change negative thinking patterns and give individuals a new way of seeing themselves and their environment.Switching between periods of dysthymic moods and periods of hypomanic moods is indicative of cyclothymia, which is a mild variant of bipolar disorder.In the DSM-5, dysthymia is replaced by persistent depressive disorder.