I'm afraid to try a new medicine, for fear of a disabling depression. Yet, I know that this chronic low-level depression is keeping me from functioning as well as I would like. Thanks for any suggestions that you may have. However, there are a few things we do know. People with double depression do not respond as well to the traditional antidepressant medications, and the illness is, almost by definition, chronic and recurrent in nature.
Double depression can cause a lot more disability and lifelong problems for the sufferer.
Substance abuse of any sort exacerbates the condition. This is very common in double depression, but can also happen to someone being treated for a simple major depressive episode. We used to pay little attention to the whole concept of partial treatment response. As long as someone didn't feel too depressed anymore and was functioning at a better level, we considered the treatment a success. Recent research is showing us that this kind of thinking is wrong.