It is time to take the cape off and expose some things a lot of people, specifically Black women have been struggling with for a while. We are suffering in silence and the reality is a lot of us have no clue why or even what is happening. Enter high functioning depression (HFD). High-functioning depression is a form of depression not often diagnosed or identified clinically. The mood disorder is often not severe presenting enough for a depression prognosis. However, a person with this condition exhibits the symptoms of depression it just looks slightly different. The manifestation of the mental illness does not interfere with daily functioning like in major depression. Meaning internally the person understands something is going on but it is not enough for them to stay in bed.
A common clinical diagnosis for High-functioning depression is Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD). PDD is long-term mild depression. People with this mood disorder also function well even though they have the condition. It seems that in most cases people who experience this have a push-through way of being so they can be super successful, and even appear friendly and outgoing. Think of the recent death of Cheslie Kryst who would have thought. The list does not stop there, unfortunately.
What makes HFD so scary is it lies just underneath the surface. The person is able to move and shake oftentimes having a lot of major accomplishments. There is a concept called smile depression that is often present. A person with this form of depression frequently smiles despite their low mood. The last thing we expect someone with depression to do is to smile.
The symptoms of clinical depression are usually present in HFD just in a lower dose as the person works harder to keep up their image. They may be guarded and often the symptoms are unseen by the outside world. These symptoms include tearfulness, low participation in things they once found joy in, fatigue, canceling plans consistently for not seen emergency, disturbance in sleep and or appetite, and even sad mood.
Here are some signs that you may be dealing with HFD
You feel very fatigued and struggle to do the basic things of life. Others may have described you as lazy.
In the face of a compliment, you struggle to accept it and may even find ways to criticize yourself.
Fluctuations on your weight without trying due to disturbances in your appetite.
Feelings of hopelessness even though you are seemingly accomplishing our goals.
Despite going on with your regular life and even some exciting parts of life a person with HFD can find that their energies are low throughout the day, have low concentration, feelings of despair, anger, and agitation. With all of these things bad enough to cause discomfort but not bad enough that it is recognized by the individual that they need to seek help. Often we are conditioned to just keep going always looking to the next milestone and in a state of grind that we are not in tune with our emotions and this is missed.
So how do we manage- aside from seeking help:
Acknowledge what is happening Do not try to pass it off as a phase, or something you can accomplish your way out of. Be transparent with yourself.
Get active- I am not saying complete an Iron man I am just saying move your body. The longer you lay the more you wanna lay so get up and get moving.
Make sure you are eating whole foods. There is a huge connection between nutrition and mental health
Get social even if it is just replying to a friend who has messaged you.
Just because a person is not walking around like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh or sitting alone crying missing work and dropping other obvious balls in their life does not mean they are not struggling. Depression happens on a scale, ranging in severity, and while there are common symptoms it will not look the same on everyone. People are fighting daily battles and because of social media, we really think we know someone and often we are just seeing the surface facade they have created so they can get through the day.
You can manage high-functioning depression with therapy and other mind-body-soul approaches to care. Do not go through this debilitating condition alone. Mild depression can become severe without proper treatment and care.
Resources if you need help
Prevention Hotline:
1-800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741-741
Disclaimer- *I understand the cultural and systematic reasons Black people, again women specifically, are often misdiagnosed or brushed to the side because “it seems like you have it all together” that issue is just not the focus of this article.*
