“Smiling depression”: why are cheerful and successful people sad

Finding out that someone is having inner struggles despite appearing content and successful on the outside can be startling. They seem content, self-assured, and even successful in their personal and professional endeavors. However, they might be hiding a great deal of sadness and emotional suffering behind that smile. This is commonly known as "depression with a smile."

Smiling depression is more difficult to identify than traditional depression, which is characterized by sadness and withdrawal. People who are experiencing it maintain appearances while keeping their true emotions hidden from others. Others find it difficult to recognize the symptoms and provide assistance as a result.

This essay will examine the causes of smiling depression, the motivations behind people’s decision to conceal their melancholy, and methods for identifying it in both ourselves and other people. It serves as a reminder that people who appear to be doing well on the outside might be engaged in invisible warfare.

Everything is like Eeyore. or not?

If you ask almost anyone what a person with depression looks like, he or she will probably start by describing Eeyore from the Winnie the Pooh book—a depressed, miserable being who is always whining and complaining. Most likely, unable to even perform basic hygiene, he spends his days in bed, facing the wall. Of course, this also occurs, but depression is one of the most complex illnesses, and one of its guises is the outward look of happiness and contentment—a bright smile.

It’s possible that you have seen Tim Roth’s television series "Lie to Me." Dr. Lightman, the character, repeatedly plays back a video clip taken just before his mother committed suicide. In it, a kind woman shares her plans to bake chocolate cake for her family while grinning broadly. Dr. Lightman eventually notices "micro expressions" that point to unseen suffering.

The film’s screenwriters greatly exaggerate the possibility of "face reading," but "happy suicides"—baking chocolate cakes for the entire family the day before—are not at all unusual.

Why do we say “I’m fine” when everything is bad

When something goes wrong, why do people smile? There could be a number of causes. The first—and most crucial—of these is our inability to control our emotions. We frequently behave in ways that are "forceful," as we are accustomed to doing in other spheres of our lives. To be sure, who hasn’t had to wake up early due to work or school obligations and not gotten enough sleep before? A strict trainer says, "Do another ten squats." Consume what you dislike since it’s healthful, and generally speaking, a diet?

We attempt to deal with a "bad mood" in the same coercive ways: we act as though we’re content and successful, and we even think that we’re feeling good. Every day, more and more people are devastated by such emotional auto-aggression.

External pressure is the second factor that causes depressed people to smile. They feel that because they are dependent on their kids, aging parents, coworkers, and so on, they have no right to succumb to frailty and hopelessness. Therefore, people attempt to project an external psychological well-being even when they have a perfectly legitimate—that is, from the perspective of society—reason to experience depression (such as divorce).

"A person’s psyche is less likely to identify his problems and more likely to be unable to handle this load if they have a strong sense of responsibility."

An internal belief that there must be legitimate causes for depression makes up the third and final reason. We think that everyone can enumerate a brief list of factors that, in the eyes of the general public, ought to contribute to depression: losing one’s job, a loved one, divorcing or becoming ill, either personally or with a loved one.

When the external environment is conducive, it appears to us that depression has no source—rather, it’s just a whim and a caprice!

More than 10% of Americans, according to data from the National Institute of Mental Health (USA), suffer from depression, with 40% of cases being hidden or "smiling" depression.

What is the danger of “smiling” depression

Sedentary, "classic" depression is safer than its covert form in certain aspects. In fact, even someone who is as far from psychiatry as possible will suspect that something is wrong if your spouse, friend, or relative spends entire days in bed without strength, has abandoned all regular affairs and duties, and does not show the slightest enthusiasm in response to the most tempting offers. Usually, after multiple failed attempts to "cheer up" and "get over it," it becomes evident that the individual requires expert psychotherapy assistance.

When friends and family recognize the symptoms of "classic" depression, they encourage the person to consult a physician, and assistance soon afterward.

The increased risk of suicide among patients with hidden depression is the second factor making it deemed more dangerous. As strange as it may seem, willpower is also necessary for suicide; a patient who is depressed frequently lacks the strength to take the last, deadly step.

A person suffering from "smiling" depression is a different story. Not only is he happy and active enough to arrange his own death, but he also knows how to keep his illness a secret from his family. For them, the realization that someone had significant psychological issues is just as shocking as learning about the suicide!

"Smiling depression" is a covert battle in which people pretend to be content and successful while harboring deep sadness on the inside. They cover up their suffering with smiles, frequently persuading people—and even themselves—that nothing is wrong. Because of this, it may be difficult for loved ones to recognize the symptoms and the sufferer may go unnoticed. It’s important to recognize this gap between appearance and inner feelings in order to support and assist people who may be secretly suffering from depression.

How to identify “smiling” depression

A psychiatrist or psychotherapist is the only person qualified to diagnose someone, of course, but you might be wondering how to spot this dangerous condition in your loved ones.

Let’s also talk about how to spot "smiling" depression in yourself, as most patients are unable to identify it in themselves.

Therefore, depression that is "smiling" manages to hide itself (the term "masked depression" is not an accident). Furthermore, there aren’t really that many of these masks.

• High anxiety: the desire to always keep everything under control, from your health and the lives of loved ones to things that do not depend on you at all, for example, the weather. Sometimes anxiety results in obsessive-compulsive disorders – repetition of obsessive actions, such as endless hand washing, continuous cleaning or meaningless rituals. If your friend always checks the front door exactly three times before leaving the house to see if it is locked, this is not a harmless eccentricity! From the same area are various phobias and regular panic attacks.
• Sleep disorders and eating habits against the background of a “smooth, cheerful, carefree mood” ‒ frequent signs of depression, and it doesn’t matter in which direction the disorder develops: insomnia and lack of appetite or, on the contrary, drowsiness and constant hunger.
• "Incurable" health problems for which doctors do not find the cause. Most often, these are unexplained headaches or "heart" pains, nausea, itchy skin … Of course, all these symptoms can be manifestations of somatic diseases, but an experienced therapist quickly understands that these problems come "from the head".
• Finally, it may appear withstrange, uncharacteristic behavior: sudden sexual hyperactivity, or the desire to go "on a binge", or frequent mood swings with outbursts of aggression.

However, let us reiterate: it is extremely challenging to identify and identify "smiling" depression.

It’s important to comprehend "smiling depression" in order to acknowledge that people who seem successful and happy on the outside can actually experience intense sadness. It serves as a reminder that mental health issues can affect anyone, regardless of how they appear on the outside.

It’s critical to approach this subject with candor and empathy. We can have a big impact by supporting one another, having conversations about mental health, and being aware of the emotional health of people around us. We can contribute to the creation of a more encouraging and understanding atmosphere for everyone if we acknowledge that sadness can lurk beneath a cheerful exterior.

Remember that getting professional help is available if you or someone you know needs it. Reaching out can be a critical first step on the road to recovery. Let’s keep encouraging one another and removing obstacles that keep people from getting the assistance they require.

Video on the topic

How to suspect depression in a teenager? #psychotherapy

People with depression will be grateful to you if you know this #daryadomash #erpp #depression

How to cure depression?

What you can’t say to a person with depression? #psychology #psychotherapy