Chronic depression is also called dysthymia. Chronic depression is, as the name implies, a type of depression that lasts for a long time. Usually, chronic depression goes on for at least two years, sometimes longer. Unlike some of the other intense depressions, chronic depression isn’t debilitating.

It will still have an impact on the daily life of someone that has it but it won’t interfere too much with a person’s ability to function. Think of this type of depression as a long, slow simmering of symptoms, a dull ache but not a sharp pain.

Scientific research has linked chronic depression with chemical imbalances and hormonal changes that happen to people throughout their lives.

People who have low serotonin levels in their brains are more likely to have Chronic Depression than people with normal serotonin levels. Serotonin is the chemical that your body produces during times of stress to help you deal with traumatic events.

Chronic Depression can also sometimes be caused by an underlying illness like hypothyroidism or any disorder that disrupts the body’s chemistry and causes some chemical or hormonal imbalances that reduce Serotonin levels and raise Cortisol levels.

People that have Chronic Depression can still hold a job, take care of a family, and do all the things that they normally do without seeming as if they are depressed although they might seem more unhappy than most people. Even without having severe symptoms that person will still be suffering from the symptoms associated with depression like feeling worthless, being unable to concentrate for very long, feeling sad and anxious or hopeless.

The first symptoms of Chronic Depression can appear as early as late childhood in some people.

Girls are statistically more likely to suffer from Chronic Depression than boys, especially as the stresses and worries of puberty set in.

Women are much more likely than men to have problems with Chronic Depression.

Figures show that as many as 25% of all women have suffered from Chronic Depression at some point during their lives.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that more than 10 million per year suffer from Chronic Depression.

Because Chronic Depression isn’t severe enough to limit a person’s activity there are most likely millions more cases that go undiagnosed each year because the people suffering from it don’t recognize the symptoms and don’t realize they have Chronic Depression.