Most people are well aware of the more obvious signs of depression like crying or feeling sad all or most of the time. While some experience depression in this way, a lot of people with depression don’t necessarily feel sad and don’t cry. Instead, they might have “hidden” depression. With this kind of depression, symptoms tend to be much more subtle and less severe but persistent over a longer period of time. They’re easier to miss, at least at first.
Rapid or unusual mood shifting
You might notice that rather than feeling pretty even most of the time, you might start to switch between feeling empty, worthless, hopeless, irritable, and easily frustrated. It might be that you don’t seem to enjoy the things you used to or that you seem to lose your temper more often and over small stuff. Things that never used to bother you now seem to be impossible to get past or deal with. Taking frustrations out on others just makes you feel guilty and angry at yourself, which just makes you feel even worse. People around you start to walk on eggshells or avoid you, which is hurtful and confusing.
Memory problems
Depression can make it nearly impossible to remember to do things. It can make it hard to learn new information because it just doesn’t seem to stick somehow. You might notice that you can’t remember what to get at the grocery store once you get there. You start missing appointments or deadlines at work and forget about personal appointments. It might be that you start to do poorly on tests because you can’t remember the information, even though you know you studied it.
Lack of energy and motivation
Just trying to find the energy or motivation to do even everyday tasks can be exhausting when you’re depressed. Perhaps you don’t get around to opening the mail or paying bills. Instead, they just start piling up and the collections calls start coming. You may start missing a lot of work or school and start to fall behind. You stop hanging out with friends and might even stop showering, brushing your teeth or doing other personal care because none of it seems to matter anymore.
Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
In our fast-paced world, being able to concentrate and make sound, quick decisions is important. When you’re depressed, these tasks can become almost impossible. It may feel like your thoughts are so scattered and elusive. It may be very difficult to focus on any one thing or get anything done because of all the intrusive, negative thoughts that creep in. You may start doubting yourself as time goes on.
Unexplained physical symptoms
Depression doesn’t just affect our emotions. Most depressed people notice changes in their cardiovascular, immune, and digestive systems as well. If you’re depressed, you may have persistent, unexplained aches and pains, headaches, stomach trouble, or frequent illness. You’ve been to the doctor a lot more lately and he or she can’t explain why you’re feeling bad. It may be that your blood pressure and blood sugar may be inching up and more difficult to control. Perhaps you seem to catch every cold that’s going around.
The good news is that hidden depression is very treatable. For some people, depression is caused by medical issues like vitamin deficiency, hypothyroidism, Lyme Disease, and certain medications. For this reason, it’s very important that anyone who feels depressed sees his or her healthcare provider to rule out a medical cause.
For other people, the exact cause of their depression is unknown but may be due to a multitude of factors like trauma, grief, and chronic stress. Depression therapy is often very effective in addressing all of these factors. Antidepressants prescribed by a healthcare provider can also be helpful but aren’t necessarily required for successful treatment of depression for everyone. Many people get the best results by using a combination of medication and therapy.
For more information, check out my depression treatment page.