To cure depression, you first have to admit that you have a problem. And sometimes you need help from outside. The following 8 habits often give away people with internal problems.
They try too hard to maintain the appearance of happiness.
Often a person is not ready to admit even to himself that he has encountered difficulties of a psychological nature. In order to avoid imaginary shame, not to upset anyone, to remain “strong” and not to seek help under any circumstances, such a person maintains the appearance of well-being. Sometimes it turns out quite successfully, but it will not be difficult for loved ones to see through the true nature of the ostentatious happiness if they are ready and willing to call things by their proper names. Ironically, people with a perpetual smile in public can easily turn out to be victims of hidden depression.
They have difficulty sleeping and eating.
Depression can lead to a feeling of loss of control – sleep patterns and relationships with food are affected. Some people cannot fall asleep, languishing from helplessness, until the morning, while others, on the contrary, “escape” from the world into the kingdom of sleep, practically never leaving their bed. Some people find it difficult to force themselves to eat a full meal due to loss of appetite, while others “eat away” the pain and cannot stop. Oddities with sleep patterns and food intake are a reason to think about what caused them – this is not an accident.
Their “distress signals” are ambiguous
Despite all the secrecy, one cannot rule out episodes of revelations, when the person struggling with depression does not ask for help explicitly, but hints at such a need. These signals are easy to miss, but their dual nature is not a reason to write off everything as “it seemed so.” It is these moments that give a chance to establish contact. Sometimes people are unsafe to be alone with their depression, and deep down they know this, even if they try to convince others otherwise.
They have a hard time dealing with betrayal and separation.
When depression becomes an integral part of life, the situation may stabilize over time, and a conditional balance may arise. However, such people make a lot of efforts to lead their previous lives, and any “stab in the back” sometimes seems like the end of the world to them. When the fragile mental balance is disturbed, it is not surprising that the betrayal of loved ones knocks the ground out from under your feet and life seems to lose its meaning. It is even more difficult when the separation occurs due to depression, unwillingness to fight for a person.
They are goal-driven
In the absence of positive emotions, people with hidden depression can replace them with a “higher goal” in order to somehow systematize and justify their deprivations and suffering. Perfectionism and harsh self-criticism often awaken – the goal becomes an obsession and often the only reason to wake up in the morning.
They start to lie “for the good”
Depressive states make a person less protected and sensitive to external pressure. Therefore, in order to defend their mental comfort, all means, in their opinion, are good. Feeling their vulnerability, people suffering from various forms of depression may not disdain to lie. This is not always an inventive deception – rather a forced “good reason”. They will find an explanation for both marks on the wrist and missed calls – and will insist on it, even if it does not seem very plausible to you.
They convert emotional drama into creativity.
It is no secret that mental suffering has inspired artists to create at all times. Creativity allows you to effectively splash out emotions, putting them into material form – be it an oil painting or sketches in a weekly journal, poetry or melodies. People who are forced to fight depression may amaze you with their talent, but this does not mean that they do not need support.
They have “therapeutic” activities that they can’t refuse.
Medication is only available after diagnosis, and such people rarely go to therapy. Thus, a person learns to live with their condition and finds therapeutic activities for themselves – from training in the gym to driving a car. As a rule, such “rituals” become a priority, and a person cannot be flexible and, for example, cancel a visit to the gym for a meeting or go in someone else’s car for company. Dependence on headphones can also be one of the signs – music calms and allows you to close yourself off from the outside world in a socially approved way.