Emotional illness│Many people think that people with depression just have a sad face, but with the change of society, many people have become accustomed to being depressed and insincere. Masks make people think that they are living a happy life, that is, “smiling depression”.
Written by: Yuuki@Medical Inspire 医． Thinking │ Image source: GoodStudio@Shutterstock, pathdoc@Shutterstock, fizkes@Shutterstock, Sotnikov Misha@Shutterstock, irasutoya
Emotional Illness│ Habit of wearing a mask and welcoming people with a smile “Smiling Depression”, once it breaks out, it is even more harmful than severe depression!
Many people always think that patients with depression are listless, sad, pessimistic and negative for a long time, and smiling seems to have nothing to do with depression. However, as society changes, many people have become accustomed to depression and insincere words. There is a phenomenon of depression, that is, patients will hide their depressed emotions and wear a smiling mask to make people think that they are living a happy life. Although this type of “smiling depression” is not a clinically diagnosed definition or a formal medical term, it can be regarded as a type of “atypical depression”. Despite being called “atypical,” it’s actually a very common subtype of depression.
Smiling melancholic patients may be active on the surface, and may even be the pistachio in the team, but in fact, they may be depressed and full of negative emotions for a long time in their hearts. These people are usually glamorous on social media, but occasionally post some extremely negative articles, and the content may even be full of hopelessness about life. Patients may also get used to suppressing and wronging themselves to please others. Over time, negative emotions will accumulate more quickly. They usually deal with the transformation and expression of negative emotions more bluntly than usual, and always hide these emotions in one go, leaving only positive emotions.
Because smiling melancholic patients try their best to hide their depression, it is always difficult for others to detect their surface emotions. But you can still pay attention to whether your relatives and friends have the following characteristics. The symptoms of some “smiling depression” patients include:
．Dislikes social activities and is most comfortable alone
．Put on a standard smile in front of people, but can’t smile after leaving
．It’s a friend’s pistachio, but my heart is sad
．Feeling bad about yourself, worrying about being a burden to others
．Always want to be perfect, always used to force a smile
．Caring too much about what others say or what others think
．Frequently feel tired and lose energy
．Sudden loss of appetite or overeating
．Anxiety and even avoidance of small things
．Don’t trust people around you, don’t take the initiative to ask for help
．Creating an illusion of happiness on social platforms
．I have a lot of friends but I can’t find someone to really talk to
Because smiling depression is often underestimated statistically, even the person concerned is not aware that he has depression, so that he does not seek help in time. They may gradually lose interest in the things they used to enjoy doing, and even in life, because it is difficult to detect, but they are different from patients with severe depression, because they will not become depressed due to the gradual aggravation of the disease, but will have the original physical strength and mobility. In addition, they have a tendency to over-repress themselves. Once these repressions are erupted, there may be a serious rebound, which will be converted into practical and specific executive power, making them more likely to self-harm or suicide than major depression. Patients are much higher.
“Smiling depression” is treatable just like other depressions. As long as patients with mild depression discover their symptoms in time and find suitable ways to relieve and release their negative emotions, they can improve. You can try to maintain the following good living habits:
1. Get more exercise
2. Eat a balanced diet
3. Establish interests, such as listening to music, reading books, etc.
For patients with severe depression, it is recommended to adopt dual treatment of drugs and psychology, and make a professional diagnosis to professional medical personnel as soon as possible.
