a prolonged (lasting at least 2 years), unipolar, non-psychotic form of depression. It differs from many other forms of depression by longer duration but less severe manifestations. Dysthymia most often (in 70% of cases) begins in the pubertal period (before the age of 21); although the onset of the disease is also possible in middle and involutional age. The clinical picture of dysthymia is characterized by spontaneous onset, manifestation outside connection with any traumatic events, and a chronic course with minimal expression of vital hypotymia and predominance of somatovegetative and pathocharacterological symptom complexes. A combination of dysthymic affect with anxiety disorders (panic attacks, generalized anxiety, social phobias, etc.) is also possible. After 2 years, during which mild affective disorders persist, more pronounced depressions may join dysthymia. In such cases, it is referred to as double depression. Double depressions during the lifetime are observed in more than two-thirds of patients with dysthymia.