High Functioning Depression
What is High Functioning Depression?
High Functioning Depression appears like everything is "sort of" fine on the outside but on the inside you're a wreck. You may find yourself pretending that you're happy to reassure others that you are fine. Essentially you're "faking it" in order to get through the day, to get your work/school done and then do it again tomorrow.
Yes, I get it, your first thought is "I'm not depressed, I'm not sitting around crying in a dark room and can't get out of bed". This is a little different, it's almost this lingering feeling that gets stronger for a period of time and sometimes not as intense. You know something is off because you may experience bouts of:
Poor appetite or overeating.
Insomnia or hypersomnia.
Low energy or fatigue.
Low self-esteem.
Poor concentration or difficulty making decisions.
People around you may notice that you are a bit more grouchy, you may have random angry outbursts, or be struggling to feel joy in your life. You may think that your falling out of love with your partner, or need to just change jobs, or that something else in your world is the culprit. However, it's not the first time you've felt this way.
High Functioning Depression
First of all, High-Functioning Depression is not a diagnosis. It is a term used in place for the clinical term Dysthymia. Dysthymia is a clinical diagnosis also known as Persistent Depressive Disorder as per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). It can be considered a type of milder, long lasting form of depression as per Johns Hopkins Medicine. The difficulty is that it is hard to identify. We often associate depression with the idea of one who can't get out of bed, or is visibly distraught and a general lack of engagement in life. Whereas Dysthymia is not as visibly expressive.
Those with Dysthymia would still be going about their everyday commitments such as work, school, child-rearing and socializing. However, the depression is well hidden to those on the outside while the person is struggling on the inside. There are several ways to treat the disorder such as being mindful of everyday diet, exercise, medication and talk it out to create new structure, habits and thought process through therapy.
This is where I can be that support for you. I understand going through the motions and still getting life done is just not enough. I can help you with gaining self-awareness by understanding your own psyche, process this piece left unattended to and work with you to create actions to accomplish change, healing and growth.
I invite you to be a part of your story of change towards achieving maintaining wellness. This doesn't happen until you're ready. Then when you are, I am happy to walk alongside you, then a half-step behind you, then behind you, until you can do it on your own.