That bed-rotting feeling when you just want to escape from everything and breathe better cause everything keeps suffocating you.
You may have an idea of how depression looks or how it feels. Depression has some specific symptoms. When we talk about depression or think about depression we imagine some specific signs which indicate major clinical depression. Signs like isolation, feeling fatigue and low energy, loss of appetite or eating too much, insomnia or sleeping too much, struggling with anxiety and sadness, hopelessness, negative thoughts etc. Usually people with depression can not keep up with their day-to-day activities. But in people with high functioning depression, that is not the case.
Psychologist Dawn Potter says,
Depression is not always something you can see in others or pinpoint easily in yourself, for some people, depression lives under the surface. It can be extremely challenging to go about your day to day, but to the rest of the world, you seem to be doing reasonably well.
Now you need to understand the difference between clinical depression and high functioning depression. Between these two, “Functioning” is one significant distinction. The symptoms, which include feelings of helplessness, difficulties remembering, focusing, or making decisions, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, frequent zoning out, and a lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities, are essentially the same.
Individuals who suffer from clinical depression find it difficult to attend to their needs. High functioning depressive disorder individuals, on the other hand, handle everything flawlessly despite these symptoms. It is nearly undetectable at first because the symptoms are not as acute or severe as those of clinical depression. They manage all of their obligations, have a reliable job, and attend to everything that requires their time.They may feel they are hanging by a thread but may appear as if nothing is happening inside of them in front of other people. Because of this reason, they are less likely to get any help from friends, families and close ones. People can not help someone in something that does not appear in their viewpoint.
When people with high functioning depression keep everything hidden and do every work of their life perfectly, people around them do not feel any urge to help them. Even sometimes, some people do not even recognize it themselves. If they keep pushing themselves to live a productive life while managing everything, ignoring their emotional experiences, then it becomes tough to recognize. This behavior is called “Masking” when people try to maintain a certain image, showing everything is perfect when it is really not.
High functioning depression can be caused by genetics, traumatic experiences, continuous negative self-talks, financial problems etc. Many people with high functioning depression feel like they can not be helped or that any feeling of relief would be temporary. But this thought pattern can keep them in the cycle of doing nothing. They often keep themselves busy just not to feel emotionally vulnerable.
There is no concrete treatment of high functioning depression. But rather than numbing emotions, you need to acknowledge what you are feeling. Numbing your feelings can give you temporary relief but in the long run, it will have long lasting emotional consequences. You can talk about your experience with someone you trust. Sharing emotions can give you relief and lighten your burden. You can practice self-care activities though at first it can be very challenging. Therapy from professionals as well as meditations can also help overcome this invisible illness.
Nowadays, most people are suffering from high functioning depression. As it is very tough to recognize, we may not see this outwardly. We should prioritize our mental health and internalize that mental health problems should not be ignored.
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Writer
Ummay Tasnim Sifat
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE