Many people today struggle with mood problems. These manifest themselves, among other things, in a prolonged lowering of mood, difficulties in performing daily duties or anxiety. Some of us try to cope with such situations on our own, thinking that it is just a temporary condition. Then try to place the blame for their bad mood on: the atmosphere at work or conflicts in family life. This is because some people are unable to admit that their bad mood has been going on for too long or that it may be an illness. Masked depression usually occurs under the guise of other psychological or somatic problems. Although the person often faces his or her difficulties alone, often in an attempt to function normally, he or she faces a tremendous burden that can eventually lead to a collapse of resources. What is the course of masked depression, and how can you help yourself?
What is depression? Types of depression
Depression belongs to the category of so-called affective disorders. It is most often associated with the image of a patient who does not have the strength to get out of bed, is depressed, and is also unable to feel joy or force himself to perform even basic daily activities. Nowadays, it is already known that depression can have many sources and, consequently, also a whole range of varieties and manifest itself differently. Each of them appears for a different reason, which can be, for example, a genetic condition or a past trauma. There are such forms of depression as:
- exogenous depression – it develops under the influence of external factors, such as a trauma experienced by a person. Thus, the death of a loved one or a serious accident, among others, can contribute to its formation. Typical symptoms of depression we can include: lowered mood, lack of energy, lack of experiencing pleasure, sense of meaninglessness.
- endogenous depression – it results from abnormal functioning of neurotransmitters or improper structure of brain structures. Thus, it is not the result of traumatic experiences in a person’s life,
- agitated depression – also known as anxiety depression. This is a particularly severe form of this disease. One of its symptoms is a constant sense of danger. This translates into tremendous tension and psychomotor agitation. This means an increased risk of attempting suicide,
- reactive depression – its cause is prolonged, chronic stress, which negatively affects the human body. However, it usually lasts for a shorter time than other varieties of this disease, and its symptoms are less intense,
- neurotic depression – also known as dysthymia, is a chronic depression accompanied by anxiety. It is diagnosed when there is a decline in mood lasting two years or more. It is often accompanied by a sense of hopelessness and a belief that this situation has no solution. It has a milder course than, for example, agitated depression,
- postpartum depression – occurs in women after the birth of a child, as it is a physical and mental reaction to this situation. It is caused by the huge changes in life that young mothers experience, so they should pay increased attention to their mental well-being after giving birth,
- postpartum depression – occurring after the loss of a child,
- seasonal depression – occurs most often during the autumn and winter seasons. It is related to the deterioration of weather conditions and lack of sunshine. Among other things, it manifests itself in fatigue and a constant feeling of lethargy, otherwise known as excessive sleepiness.
Thus, there are many different types of depression, but one of the less frequently recognized and dangerous varieties is precisely latent depression. This is because it involves increased symptoms that directly threaten the health of the person suffering from it. In addition, it is difficult to recognize, because its symptoms usually mask themselves and resemble completely different diseases. This affects the speed of its diagnosis and, consequently, the timing of treatment. It can take a really long time before the patient realizes that it is necessary to counteract a completely different ailment, related to the mental health of the sufferer.
What is masked depression? What is high-functioning depression?
But what exactly is latent depression? What are its characteristic symptoms, and why is it so dangerous for those who struggle with it? Masked depression or atypical depression is one of the more severe affective disorders. It involves the appearance of a range of symptoms such as pains, fears, phobias and multiple obsessions. It is also known as smiling depression or high-functioning depression. This is because its course often does not resemble the most common symptoms of this illness, associated with depression and lying in bed. The clinical picture of masked depression is its atypical nature. Symptoms in classic depression are different in masked depression. The hallmark of masked depression is that there can be periods without symptoms, when the person functions fairly stably. People struggling with it are able to perform their duties normally, smile, and thus give the impression that everything is at its best with them. However, this is just a mask put on their face to cover what is really going on in their lives. In reality, they are wrestling with the many mental and somatic symptoms of their disorder, which can make daily functioning much more difficult. After all, it’s hard to face each day with pain of unknown origin, intrusions that interfere with all activities, or anxieties of undetermined origin. Such struggles can take a heavy toll on a person’s psyche and affect his or her behavior.
Intrusions, neurosis, phobias, anxiety neurosis can effectively prevent a person from functioning properly in society. This is because they often make it impossible to properly perform one’s duties, interact with people or even take care of one’s own needs, such as eating or proper body hygiene. Intrusions and compulsions to compulsively repeat a particular activity effectively interfere with the course of various activities, such as work, which can even lead to loss of employment. Problems with sleep and rest, on the other hand, not only prevent proper functioning in the long run, but can also cause other health problems in the long run.
Causes of masked depression
The causes of masked depression can be many, and usually result from a combination of biological, psychological and social factors.
Examples of causes of masked depression include:
- Excessive self-control – hiding one’s emotions to maintain a semblance of control and not show weakness.
- Low self-esteem – negative beliefs about oneself, avoiding expressing one’s own needs to avoid rejection or criticism from others.
- Anxiety disorders – anxiety disorders may be more prominent or intractable, thus covering up symptoms of depression.
- Relationship problems – lack of satisfaction in the relationship, frustrations, unmet emotional needs,fear of breakup.
- Financial problems – financial problems or other significant external factors that make it difficult to function.
Symptoms of masked depression
Maskeddepression has symptoms that are extremely varied and very often appear to signal the presence of other conditions. Instead of going to a mental health specialist for help, sufferers usually first try to eliminate their ailments with, for example, pain pills or digestive aids. How do you actually recognize that someone is struggling with this very ailment?
Hidden depression – physical symptoms
It is important to start with the fact that depression is an illness accompanied by many somatic symptoms. Often people struggling with depression begin treatment with somatic symptoms. However, treatment of somatic symptoms is most often unsuccessful. Physical symptoms of depression come to the fore, which means various types of pain, such as headaches or muscular pain. The pains are misinterpreted as symptoms of a different condition. Other signals that a person’s struggling body sends are, for example, digestive complaints such as constipation, nausea or diarrhea, various types of digestive complaints, gastrointestinal symptoms, irritable bowel syndrome, dizziness, restless legs syndrome. Also pay attention to symptoms like palpitations or blood pressure problems. Depression can disrupt the rhythm of work and rest, as it also contributes to difficulty sleeping and insomnia. It’s also a constant feeling of lethargy and fatigue throughout the day, making it difficult to focus on responsibilities. These are complaints that are not commonly associated with depression, rather they are a diagnosis of diseases such as migraine or gastrointestinal conditions, for example. This is precisely the difficulty of diagnosing hidden depression and its danger – because it does not give obvious signals to quickly and correctly identify what is happening to a person. This is because it hides behind common ailments, often downplayed by people.
Masked depression does not hide behind just one type of symptom, such as a headache. It’s a spectrum of ailments that can affect sufferers. They are also divided into different groups, distinguished on the basis of what aspect of the human body they affect. In the course of latent depression, several types of psychosomatic masks, also known as depressive masks, are distinguished:
- painful – this can take the form of just various kinds of soreness, such as muscular soreness, which mimic other conditions, while in fact their source is depression.
- behavioral – in this case, there is a change in the behavior and habits of the person. It is also associated with addictions, such as alcoholism or shopaholism.
- vegetative – it means various types of characteristic physical symptoms, such as abdominal pain or digestive complaints. Its symptom is also sometimes a decrease in libido.
- psychopathological – it is a mask characterized by symptoms of other mental illnesses, such as anxiety disorders or OCD
- circadian rhythm disorder – is an abnormal functioning of the body. With this type of mask, sleep problems, such as insomnia, usually appear.
The masks, therefore, vary widely from one another, but lead to a single source, which is precisely hidden depression. They do not fit the stereotypical image of a person struggling with a depressive disorder – sad, without strength lying in bed, unable to bring himself to take a bath or brush his teeth. A fit, functioning person who is tormented by headaches can go to great lengths to find answers to their ailments without suspecting depression in themselves at all.
How to recognize masked depression?
Masked depression, also known as atypical depression, can be difficult to recognize because the symptoms often differ from typical depression symptoms. Warning signs of masked depression can be:
- increased appetite and weight gain,
- increased sleepiness,
- feelings of heaviness and lack of strength,
- isolation,
- hypersensitivity to negative social evaluation.
Depression without depression. Treatment of masked depression
Many people wonder how to cure depression on their own. The answer is – there is no such way. Yes, you can take measures on your own that support the healing process, such as healthy eating, physical activity, taking care of your needs and pleasures. However, these are no substitute for treatment under the guidance of a specialist. This is because latent depression often requires drug treatment combined with participation in therapy. This is because latent depression has its origins in difficult events in a person’s life. Emotional difficulties manifest themselves in such a case as various somatic ailments, which a person’s psyche is able to cope with more easily than recognizing mental health problems. It is also said that people suffering from masked depression often experience troubles in their lives due to their constant striving for perfectionism and do not accept weaknesses – their own or those close to them. Participation in therapy helps them to mute this type of disorder and to work through the reasons for it. The patient can then confront his own expectations and understand what motivates them. Such discoveries often facilitate the subsequent treatment process, and thus lead to faster alleviation of recurrent physical symptoms of depression.
Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy
When dealing with masked depression, it is important to begin proper treatment. Medications are an important part of proper treatment. They should be selected by a specialist, namely a psychiatrist. Antidepressants (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors SSRIs) are usually prescribed.
When diagnosing a patient’s depression, the psychiatrist notes the possibility of masked depression, which can be more difficult to identify due to the lack of typical symptoms.In the atypical form of depression, feelings of guilt are often masked by somatic symptoms, such as body pain or fatigue. A patient with masked depression may manifest neurotic symptoms, such as anxiety or obsessions, which can make it difficult to properly diagnose depression.People with low self-esteem can often manifest symptoms of depression, which can be noticed during a diagnostic evaluation by a psychiatrist.
Along with medication, parallel attendance at therapy is recommended to help the sufferer cope with the symptoms and treat over the source of his problems. Sometimes the patient has yet to realize where his problems lie and how they affect his health and behavior. It is also necessary to eliminate recurring, physical symptoms, for example, to regulate the bedtime rhythm so that the patient begins to rest properly, to develop skills in dealing with difficult emotions. However, it is only by getting to the very source of the malaise and solving the connecting problems that gives the sufferer a chance to completely resolve the physical symptoms of his latent depression. Many studies show that cognitive-behavioral therapy and its treatment program is the right choice for treating depression.
Masks
Masked depression thus takes its name from masks, which mean two things. One is that the patient hides his symptoms and pretends that everything is fine, while suffering from various symptoms of depression, both mental and physical. The second meaning of mask means that it is the disease itself that hides behind the symptoms of other ailments. It can cause headaches or muscle aches, digestive complaints or sleep problems that are easily attributed to other conditions. This delays treatment of the actual problem. The combination of these two aspects means that those suffering from hidden depression do not fit into the familiar, stereotypical image of the depressed patient, so that they later receive a diagnosis and access to proper treatment. Thus, this has a huge impact on the comfort of their lives – such patients often suffer for a long time before their problem is accurately diagnosed. Until then, they face many difficulties that do not allow them to function properly in daily life. Latent depression is treated with the help of properly selected medications and participation in therapy. By using these methods, the patient has a chance to recover faster and return to normalcy. So it is worth monitoring your physical and mental well-being and considering every possibility. A quick response is especially important in this case, since depression is a serious disease that consumes our lives. Dynamic counteraction greatly increases a person’s chance of recovery.
If you are facing various problems and symptoms, related to lowering of mood and deterioration of functioning, come to therapy – online psychotherapy.