Many people with hidden depression can conceal their depression like hiding their symptoms and pretending to be happy. People with concealed depression or hidden depression often don’t want to acknowledge the severity of their depressive feelings. They believe that if they just continue living their life, the depression will just go away on its own.
In a few situations this will work. But for most of the time, it just drags out the feelings of sadness and loneliness.
Dealing with depression through concealing ours true feelings is the way many of us were grown up. we don’t talk about our feelings and we don’t burden others with our troubles. But if a friend or family member is going through something like this trying to hide or mask their depression these signs might help you discover what they’re trying to keep concealed.
6 hidden Signs of Depression :
- They have unusual sleep, eating or drinking habits that differ from their normal ones.
When a person seems to have changed the way they sleep or eat in significant ways, that’s often a sign that something is wrong. Sleep is the foundation of both good health and mental health. When a person can’t sleep (or sleeps for far too long) every day, that may be a sign of hidden depression.
- They wear a forced smile and are always making excuses.
We’ve all seen someone who seems like they are trying to force happiness. It’s a mask we all wear from time to time. But in most cases, the mask wears thin the longer you spend time with the person who’s wearing it. That’s why lots of people with hidden depression try not to spend any more time with others than they absolutely have to.
- They may talk more philosophically than normal.
When you do finally catch up with a person with masked depression, you may find the conversation turning to philosophical topics they don’t normally talk much about. These might include the meaning of life, or what their life has amounted to so far. They may even open up enough to acknowledge occasional thoughts of wanting to hurt themselves or even thoughts of death. They may talk about finding happiness or a better path in the journey of life.
- They may put out a cry for help, only to take it back.
People with hidden depression struggle fiercely with keeping it hidden. Sometimes, they give up the struggle to conceal their true feelings and so they tell someone about it. They may even take the first step and make an appointment with a doctor or therapist, and a handful will even will make it to the first session.
- They feel things more intensely than normal.
A person with masked depression often feels emotions more intensely than others. This might come across as someone who doesn’t normally cry while watching a TV show or movie suddenly breaks out in tears during a poignant scene. Or someone who doesn’t normally get angry about anything suddenly gets very mad at a driver who cut them off in traffic. Or someone who doesn’t usually express terms of endearment suddenly is telling you that they love you.
- They may look at things with a less optimistic point of view than usual.
Psychologists refer to this phenomenon as depressive realism,( Find out are you suffering depression and there’s some research evidence to suggest that it’s true. When a person suffers from depression, they may actually have a more realistic picture of the world around them and their impact on it. People who aren’t depressed, on the other hand, tend to be more optimistic and have expectations that aren’t as grounded in their actual circumstances.