BestieMany people suffer from depression. According to statistics, about 3.3 million Americans who are at least 18 years old suffer from depression each year. Those statistics are based on those who have been diagnosed. There are still millions of people who are too ashamed to seek help and will suffer in silence. There are people who are also suffering from “hidden depression” but don’t know they are. With that said, it’s essential to try and spot the symptoms of hidden depression.
Society often makes the mistake of defining depression as a change of mood or weakness. But it’s much more than that. It’s a serious medical condition that possesses many emotional and physical emotions. Depression makes a simple day seem impossible. Not only are you dealing with work-related stress, but you’re also dealing with your own personal stress. This can make daily tasks extremely difficult to complete.
People cannot self-diagnose depression, only a doctor has the ability to do this. But there are symptoms that you can notice on your own. Below are the symptoms of hidden depression.
Let’s Talk Philosophy: Someone who is suffering from hidden depression will want to talk about life every chance they get. Unfortunately, their dialect is very vague and abstract. They won’t talk about life in a positive way, and will often lash out at their “bad luck.” The best way to help is to try and get them to speak about the positive things in their life. Negative thoughts always draw negative energy. But if someone can find some good in their life, and they focus only on that, it could be a game-changer.
Chinnapong/shutterstock.com
Excuses, Excuses, Excuses: The easiest way to cover up depressed feelings is to make excuses. Someone suffering from hidden depression will make up an emotional story about why they can’t attend an event. They do this to avoid bothering anyone with their emotional condition.
OlenaZaskochenko/shutterstock.comNo Reaction: Depression can really exhaust the mind. In some cases, it will numb your feelings and paralyze all reactions. You might start to agree with everyone no matter what the situation is. You might stop noticing insults, especially when they are directed at you. In some cases, you might not feel pain when it should be felt (a relative passing away).
Pressmaster/shutterstock.com
Psychosomatic Pain: Those who are suffering from depression will often complain about pain in their feet, hands heart and legs. They also have difficulties breathing. But once they go for a routine checkup, they are completely healthy in most cases. The pain that they are feeling is due to this unstable condition. This pain starts to cause tension and anxiety, and their mind cannot comprehend that they’re completely fine. In turn, this leads to psychosomatic pain.
alphabe/shutterstock.com
Obsessive Thoughts: Depression will often lead people to obsess over certain things. They are certain that they’re looking for answers to their problems through these thoughts. But in actuality, they’re just digging themselves a deep hole. This is one of the easiest symptoms of hidden depression to spot. A person, who constantly speaks about the same thing and doesn’t act, could be suffering from obsessive thoughts.
MarijusAuruskevicius/shutterstock.com
Bad Physical Appearance: When someone is depressed, they stop caring about themselves. They want to be alone, avoid all social interaction and in some cases ignore their physical appearance. They have so much on their mind that they can’t be bothered to care about how they look. This can also lead to an untidy living space as well.
ViacheslavNikolaenko/shutterstock.comA Dip In Productivity: Dealing with depression on its own is an uphill battle. Trying to focus on daily tasks and depression can feel impossible at times. They will feel extremely tired and they will forget things they wouldn’t normally forget. The bottom line is that they feel helpless from the moment they get up in the morning until they go to bed at night.
F8studio/shutterstock.com
Overly Happy: As I mentioned earlier, people hide their depression with lies. These lies include being overly happy. Depressed people believe that looking happy will help hide their sadness. You will notice this if you bring up a difficult topic and they laugh when they’re not supposed to. This symptom only makes things worse because you are burying the emotions for the moment, but once that moment is over, they will surface again. This is one of the toughest symptoms of hidden depression to spot.
kurhan/shutterstock.com
