Masking depression. Are you doing it?

What is smiling depression?

Causes and symptoms

Depression is treatable

Hypnosis as one of the ways to treat depression

On the surface, you appear well put together, and accomplished.

You are employed, well educated, and in a relationship. You keep busy. You don’t fit a “stereotypical” profile of a depressed person (sad, cries, and doesn’t get out of bed).

BUT Under the surface, you consistently experience feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, self-doubt, feeling inadequate, and deep sadness.

You mask your unhappiness day in and out.

You become very good at masking.

You become so good at masking your feelings that you blend with the mask, and at times you can’t differentiate what is real about you and what is not. Where is you? Where is the mask?

“Smiling depression” can go undiagnosed for many years because of masking.

Why do we mask depression?

Reasons vary:

Some are in denial, some feel guilty about feeling depressed because it’s not “justified” (how can I be depressed when I have a good life?), some are embarrassed, some don’t want to be a burden to others, and downplay the severity of their feelings.

What are the causes of depression?

Grief and loss, childhood traumas, physical issues caused by poor nutrition, lack of vitamins, lacking a life purpose, inability to take care of deeper emotional needs, and consistent harsh stress.

In 2017, WHO estimated that 300mil people worldwide suffered from depression. Even though depression is highly treatable, 35% of adults get no treatment. (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression)

Look out for signs of depression in your mind, body, and spirit:

• changes in sleeping,

• changes in eating habits,

• feeling lack of purpose,

• deeper feelings of helplessness, worthlessness, and sadness that won’t go away

• changes in weight

Hypnosis is one of the effective treatments for depression because it allows to look into the origin of the feelings, explore and understand the unconscious beliefs that we hold about ourselves, and our value as human beings.