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This concept was earlier known as Dysthymia and it was later introduced as PDD in late 1970s as a replacement of “depressive personality”.

PDD may start from as early as before age 21 years or as late as at age 21 years or older. Dysthymia is a chronic form of Depression that can cause people to lose interest in their normal day-to-day activities, have low self-esteem and an overall feeling of, feelings of hopelessness, inadequacy and difficulty with productivity. Given the chronic Journal of Psychosocial Research Vol. 14, No. 2, 2019, 411-418 DOI No. : https://doi.org/10.32381/JPR.2019.14.02.19 Corresponding author. Email : [email protected], [email protected] ISSN 0973-5410 print/ISSN 0976-3937 online ©2019 Dr. H. L. Kaila http//www.printspublications.com Yashvi Italiya and Preeti Nakhat J. Psychosoc. Res. 412 nature of Dysthymia, these feelings can continue for years and negatively impact relationships, education, employment and other daily activities.(Association, 2013) People going through this stage often feel irritated by the presence of others.

Their actions and words often tend to frustrate them. They lose interest in activities which involve conversing with other human beings. Anxiety is very common in Almost Depression. People find they are nervous and feel the panic rising in their body even during small situations. Anxiety lives in them and makes them aware of its presence all the time. It becomes almost permanent even if they have cured from Almost Depression or Depression.

Other signs and symptoms are as follows:

1. Extreme moodiness. Mood swings are terrible and people, who are Almost Depressed, go through them almost every day. It becomes a sign when it reaches extreme amount.

2. Changes in eating. Due to extreme stress and pressure on the mind and thought procedure of a human brain, people often start taking out their frustration on eating. They either lose their appetite or start eating a lot.

3. Low self-esteem. Everything seems gloomy and doom. People often, start comparing themselves to others and feel low when they realise that they are not up to the benchmark of the society.

4. Problem in concentrating. Poor concentration is not something everyone has since birth, and when they develop it in later stages when they go through some mental disorder, it becomes a challenge in itself to handle this change.

The causes Researchers say that the causes of Dysthymia are not known exactly. But it is assumed that various factors like family background, past experience of the subject, traumatic incidence, changes in neurotransmitters, rebirth of previous bad memories, stressful events, abuse, etc can be some of the reasons of Dysthymia.

The effects 1) Lacking self-love. As the days passes by, loving own self goes from easiest to toughest task. By the time people realise the change, it is too late.

2) Anger issues. Taking out anger on others as well as own self becomes a daily habit. This costs the subject their friendship and other relations.

3) Drop-off in productivity. People lose curiosity in learning new things or even continuing old thing and drop in between. Almost Depression among Teens and Young Adults 413 J. Psychosoc. Res. How is PDD different from major Depression?

1) While Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is major as the name itself suggests, PDD is chronic, mostly for two to five years of duration, and minor in nature than MDD. 2) The symptoms of Almost Depression are visible in the patients of MDD for two weeks while it is visible in the patients of PDD for continuously two months for two years. 3) MDD patients may feel normal when the symptoms are gone for a while whereas PDD patients do not know what it feels like to be not Dysthymic. II. LITERATURE REVIEW 1) The researchers of “Persistent Depression as a Novel Diagnostic Category: Results from the Menderes Depression Study”, Ildirli, Sair, Dereboy (2015) got their article published in Turkey in the Journal Archives of Neuropsychiatry. The sample of the study was 140 depressive patients. The analyses state that, 61% fulfilled the criteria for PDD and 39% fulfilled for episodic MDD. The PDD patients displayed different characteristics with respect to clinical intensity and suicidal behaviour.(Saliha Ildirli, Yashvi Italiya and Preeti Nakhat J. Psychosoc. Res. 414 Maluf Carvalho, Hayden B. Bosworth, Raul Dias Santos,, 2017).

4) The authors of “Chronic, Low-grade Depression in a Nonclinical Sample:

Depressive Personality Or Dysthymia?” (2001), Ryder, R. Bagby, and Dion, aimed to examine whether Dysthymia and depressive personality disorder are distinct in nature. 81% of 467 individuals selected for questionnaire were analyzed. The analysis state that they evaluated four different latent models. Model A tested the assumption that Dysthymia and DPD are non-distinct. Model B assigned the six symptoms of Dysthymia. Model C tested another two-factor model with the seven traits from DPD and the two Dysthymia symptoms of low self-esteem and hopelessness. For Model D, the symptoms of low self-esteem and hopelessness loaded onto both the Dysthymia and DPD factors. (Andrew G. Ryder, R. Michael Bagby, and Kenneth L. Dion, 2001).

5) The authors Garrison, Waller, Cuffe, Mckeown,. Addy, Jackson came up with the title of the research “Incidence of Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymia in Young Adolescents” (April 1997) in Columbia. The method they used was the diagnoses were based on the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children. It resulted in the following: One-year MDD were 3.3% and Dysthymia were 3.4%. Factors for Dysthymia were not significant.(Carol Z.

Garrison, Jennifer L. Waller, Steven P. Cuffe, Robert E. Mckeown, Cheryl L. Addy, Kirby L. Jackson, 1997).

6) R. Howland is the sole author of the paper “General Health, Health Care Utilization, and Medical Comorbidity in Dysthymia” which was published on September 1, 1993. The method Howland used was medline. Only those studies were selected which included health data of patients with Dysthymia. The analysis of the same is that Dysthymic patients frequently use medical services and are at increased risk of poor general health. (Howland, 1993).

7) The title “The categorisation of Dysthymic disorder: Can its constituents be meaningfully apportioned?”(2012) is a work of Rhebergen, Graham, Hadzi- Pavlovic, Stek, Friend, Barrett, Parker. The study was on 18 patients attending the Black Dog Institute Depression Clinic. The result was Depression groups mostly differed on factors of intensity.(Didi Rhebergen, Rebecca Graham, Dusan Hadzi- Pavlovic, Max Stek, Paul Friend, Melissa Barrett, Gordon Parker, 2012).

III. METHODOLOGY RESEARCH QUESTION Our major research question is ‘what is the proportion of teens or young adults who are prey of Almost Depression?’ Almost Depression among Teens and Young Adults 415 J. Psychosoc. Res. QUESTIONNAIRE The questionnaire was prepared by the authors. The further procedure was carried out by formulating Google form. 1 out of 36 questions were open ended and the rest were provided with multiple choice options.

PROCEDURE Survey method was used. The sample population was 16 to 25 years old people. 576 students or just pass outs responded to the questionnaire.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS The responses were analysed using Microsoft excel. The responses of last question were bifurcated into numerous groups and then taken into consideration for analysis.

IV. ANALYSIS AND RESULT The first analysis was on Trouble in sleeping. It is also a primary symptom of Low- grade Depression. 30.55% faces the problem of oversleeping or has found it as change in their sleeping pattern. 19.61% faces the problem of insomnia as a recent change in their sleeping pattern while rest 49.82% find no trouble in sleeping. This shows that most of people belonging in the age group 16-25 are neutral when trouble in sleeping is considered. While there is problem with rest 49% as they are either indulged in oversleeping or Insomnia. In either case, the sign of Almost Depression is present.

Expressing emotions is very necessary. If people start keeping emotions and feelings to themselves, it will keep bugging them in one or the other way. And not sharing or expressing is somehow responsible for Almost Depression because people’s emotion torture them from inside more than some outside force do. So, when the participants were asked about the changes in their way of expressing emotions, 67.9% said yes. It means that either they have stopped expressing or they have started expressing. By analysing the answers of other questions, we interpreted that most of them have stopped expressing. 20.4% people said no which means that they find no change. And the rest 11.7% belong to the third part of the answer which says that they are not sure.

It would be really difficult to deal with day to day life if people can’t focus in their daily activities like reading, watching, writing, learning, etc. When participants were asked whether they face problem in concentrating in daily activities as such, 52% said yes. These many people are showing sign of anxiety which is indirectly showing sign of Almost Depression. 38.2% said no, meaning these people are fine or as they prefer to show. Rest of the 9.8% people are not sure about their answers. Yashvi Italiya and Preeti Nakhat J. Psychosoc. Res. 416 Next question is ‘can you imagine ‘Almost Depression’ being with you like other diseases such as diabetes throughout your life?’ Just 34.3% said that it is bearable while rest of the 65.7% said that it is a terrible thought. It brings to the conclusion that most of the participants are terrified by this thought even if they do not show the sign of Low-grade Depression.

The last analysis was of -‘Describe your life in a few sentences’. This was open ended and out of 576 participants only 278 of them answered it. 16.1 % people think their life should go on the way it is going while just 14.3% think their life requires a few changes. Just 5% says unpredictable and only 1% says bored. 12.5% combined are tired, frustrated and lost while 8.9% feel lonely and alone. It is good to know that at least 3% of 278 feels ambitious and is fighting. 8.9% combined is confused about their life and has mood swings and over thinks a lot. 10% people are more sad than happy.

Another 10% says that they are living less and surviving more than living. Later, the last category is the people who have given up and are in the worst phase of their life was analysed. There are total 17.9% people, which is the highest of all, who are in the worst phase. This data confirms that the people of this generation themselves do not know about it but they are mostly going through Almost Depression.

V. CONCLUSION 1) When being asked about frustration on little things, 49.65% agreed that they get frustrated easily while 29.86% denied. There were 20.48% people who were not sure. From age group of 16-25, most people who agreed were of age 19. As for ‘I am not sure’, there is a tie between age 18 and 19. This may happen due to hormonal changes also. But, if the same person also agrees to other symptoms or questions given in the questionnaire, it can be the case of Almost Depression.

2) Anger is an emotion teenagers often develop during this age due to hormonal change. But it is also one of the major symptoms of Low-grade Depression. And so it is difficult to recognise it amongst people of this age. The question asked was – ‘Often when things go out of hand, is anger the first thing that consumes your mind?’ 53% said yes which means that more than half of the participants get automatically angry on little things. Only 36% of them said and that means that the youth is mostly short tempered. Rest 11% is not sure.

3) 62% sample population wants to run away from their own self. They want to run away from reality and their problems. 24.8% people are happy as they do not want to run but solve their problems instead.

4) Over thinking is a major problem most of the people face. This was one of the questions asked to the participants 70.9%, which is very high in value, said yes. It Almost Depression among Teens and Young Adults 417 J. Psychosoc. Res. means that these many people are tired of their irrational and unnecessary thoughts while only 17.9% are not. On the other hand, just 10.8% are not sure. Tiredness from over thinking shows sign of Almost Depression because they are not able to handle their thoughts and understand their own thought processes.

VI. LIMITATIONS 1) We fell short of reading materials for our research due to rarity of topic.

2) The theory of Almost Depression is not found yet.

VII. IMPLICATIONS Escitalopram- It is a kind of drug that is used for treating Dysthymia, Depression and Anxiety. One of the studies by National Center for Biotechnology Information supports this treatment by conducting a meta-analysis to compare it with other antidepressants.

Another intervention was Placebo treatment. It is a preparation containing no medicine and administered to cause the patient to believe that he is receiving treatment. National Center for Biotechnology Information did a study on this and found out positive response from the people who went through this treatment. The researchers also suggest parents, teachers, peers and other stake holders to be a good and patient listener.

People feeling Almost Depressed should visit a therapist and undergo therapy for recovering.(Sonawalla, Rosenbaum, 2002), (Kennedy, Andersen, Lam, 2006).

REFERENCES Andrew G. Ryder, R. Michael Bagby, and Kenneth L. Dion. (2001). CHRONIC, LOW-GRADE DEPRESSION IN A NONCLINICAL SAMPLE: DEPRESSIVE PERSONALITY OR DYSTHYMIA?

(r. f. krueger, & j. m. oldham, Eds.) Journal of Personality Disorders, 15 (1), 84-93.

Association, A. P. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, (5th ed.). Washington, DC:

American Psychiatric Publishing.

Carol Z. Garrison, Jennifer L. Waller, Steven P. Cuffe, Robert E. Mckeown, Cheryl L. Addy, Kirby L.

Jackson, (1997). Incidence of Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymia in Young Adolescents.

Journal of the American Academy of child and adolescent psychiatry, 36 (4), 458-465.

David A. Adler, Julie Irish, Thomas J. McLaughlin, Carla Perissinotto, Hong Chang, Maggie Hood, Leueen Lapitsky, William H. Rogers, and Debra Lerner. (2004). The work impact of dysthymia in a primary care population. (j. c. huffman, Ed.) general hospital psychiatry, 26 (4), 269-276.

Didi Rhebergen, Rebecca Graham, Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic, Max Stek, Paul Friend, Melissa Barrett, Gordon Parker. (2012). The categorisation of dysthymic disorder: Can its constituents be meaningfully apportioned? Journal of Affective Disorders, 143 (1-3), 179-186. Yashvi Italiya and Preeti Nakhat J. Psychosoc. Res.

418 ABOUT THE AUTHORS Yashvi Italiya – A-501, Salaj Homes, near Sagar Sankul, Ugat Canal road, Jahangirabad, Adajan, Surat, Gujarat- 395005 Dr. Preeti Nakhat – 27/B, Vishwa kunj colony, Balia kaka road, Nr Meera cross roads, Ahmedabad- 380028 Fábio Gazelato de Mello Franco, Antonio Gabriele Laurinavicius, Paulo A. Lotufo, Raquel D. Conceição, Fernando Morita, Marcelo Katz, Maurício Wajngarten, José Antonio Maluf Carvalho, Hayden B. Bosworth, Raul Dias Santos,. (2017). Persistent Depressive Symptoms are Independent Predictors of Low-Grade Inflammation Onset Among Healthy Individuals. arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia, 109 (2), 103-109. Howland, R. (,1993). General Health, Health Care Utilization, and Medical Comorbidity in Dysthymia. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine , 23 (3), 211-238. Kennedy, Andersen, Lam. (2006). Efficacy of escitalopram in the treatment of major depressive disorder compared with conventional selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and venlafaxine XR: a meta-analysis. J Psychiatry Neurosci, 31 (2), 122-131. Saliha Ildirli, Copyright ofJournal ofPsychosocial Researchisthe property ofPrints Publications Pvt.Ltd.

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