Smiling Depression - Symptoms, Risk Factors, and Treatment

Introduction:

Smiling depression is a term doctors use to refer to a person who smiles but has a hidden depression. These people look happy from the outside, but internally, they suffer from symptoms like hopelessness and sadness. As they do not show signs of depression, they fail to get the necessary treatment.

What Is Smiling Depression?

Smiling depression is a condition when someone has depression inside and looks very happy from the outside. Their social life appears to be perfect or normal to others. It is not identified as a clinical diagnosis but can likely be diagnosed as a major depressive disorder with atypical features.

The smile and the external facade are like defense mechanisms in smile depression. Suicide may be one of the threats to treating depression. Hence, people affected by smile depression should not be left alone.

What Are the Symptoms of Smiling Depression?

These individuals affected with smiling depression appear perfect from the outside but usually suffer from the inside, and they show distressful symptoms of depression. Depression shows symptoms differently in different individuals.

Smiling Depression Symptoms Include:

• Deep, prolonged sadness.

• Altered appetite.

• Weight change.

• Disturbed sleep.

• Tiredness or fatigue.

• They feel hopeless and face a lack of self-esteem.

• Feel low self-worth.

• They lose interest in activities they used to enjoy before.

• Altered mood swings.

• Intrusive thoughts.

• Feeling anxiety.

• Thoughts of death.

• Trouble concentrating and making decisions.

• Avoiding social situations.

Some of these symptoms or all of them may be seen among individuals affected by smiling depression.

Though these symptoms are present inside them, they may appear like-

• Individuals with high functioning and active.

• Some individuals with a steady job, good family, and social life.

• Individuals with cheerfulness, optimism, and happiness.

Individuals With Smiling Depression Show Hidden Signs and Symptoms Such As:

• Others may think these are weak.

• Others may get burdened due to their feelings.

• They think they are fine.

• They think that others are facing still worse situations, so there is no point in telling them.

• They think the world would be better without these individuals.

Signs of Smiling Depression:

• Some people may overeat when depressed or may experience loss of appetite that results in weight changes and are common in all kinds of depression.

• It can cause excessive sleepiness, making a person struggle to get out of bed. While some people struggle with insomnia or irregular sleep habits.

• Persistent feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, guilt, and failure.

• Loss of interest in activities they enjoyed.

What Are the Risk Factors for Smiling Depression?

Some of the Risk Factors Include:

1. Big Changes Occurring in Life: Changes like the failure of a relationship and the loss of a job may trigger smiling depression.

2. Judgement: Some individuals may experience physical symptoms rather than emotional symptoms. Some cultures or families will have a stigma. They teach that showing emotions is like seeking attention, and they think of it as weakness or laziness. If someone tells these people to get over the situation and try to overcome themselves will make them not discuss the situation in the future. It is common in men. People who think that others judge them will not show the symptoms or share them with others.

3. Social Media: Many or all are using social media. Some of them want to share only good with the world, and they keep silent during the worst situations. This creates smiling depression.

4. Expectations: Everyone will have expectations from others as well as about themselves. When others are unable to meet their expectations, they tend to hide their feelings. People with perfectionism tend to be at more risk due to their expectations.

What Are the Conditions in Which Smiling Depression Can Be Seen?

Smiling depression can be seen in many mental health conditions like:

• Major depressive disorders.

• Bipolar disorder.

• Substance or medication-induced depressive disorder.

• Depression is caused by any other medical condition.

• Seasonal depression.

• Persistent depressive disorder.

Why Do People Smile When They Are Depressed?

Many people want to keep their suffering or depression private for personal and professional reasons. Smiling depression in adults can be due to fear of judgment, societal pressure, or a desire for privacy, they hide their depression with a smile.

Causes of Smiling Depression Include:

• Fear of burdening others due to guilt and hesitation to share their problems, and difficulty in asking for help from others.

• Some people think that depression is a failure, weakness, or character flaw. They may feel shy or ashamed to share their feelings, leading them to hide their condition.

• Individuals with smiling depression will convince themselves that they are happy and not depressed, accepting their struggles and suppressing their emotions instead of acknowledging them.

• Some individuals may have a fear of backlash from their close friends or family members.

• Individuals will blame themselves for their condition, leading to guilt and shame that cause them to conceal their emotions.

• For some, accepting their flaws might cause them to feel imperfect, which makes it difficult for them to open up about their struggles.

How to Diagnose Smiling Depression?

Since the symptoms of depression and smiling depression are similar, the diagnosis is difficult. Another aspect is that people are not aware of their depression and do not seek help. If a person thinks he is depressed, he must seek help. The first medical professional is to be consulted for help, and later, they may send the person to a mental health professional.

To be diagnosed with major depressive disorder, a person should experience the symptoms continuously for at least two weeks.

How to Help a Person With Smiling Depression?

If a person is suspected of having smiling depression, here are a few ways to help them:

• Talk to that person, sharing concerns with them.

• Ensure the person that depression is just a medical condition and can be managed with proper treatment and care.

• Encourage the person to get medical help and make them understand the condition better.

• Provide continuous support by letting them know that they are being heard and that they are not alone in this.

Offering both emotional and practical support to the affected person can encourage them to seek medical care, and going on appointments with them will strengthen them and make them feel accepted.

How to Treat Smiling Depression?

Treatment of smiling depression is similar to that for major depressive disorders.

These include,

• Medications: Antidepressants may help reduce symptoms by balancing certain chemicals in the brain, like serotonin and other neurotransmitters.

• Psychotherapy: These include talk therapy, cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. These techniques modify the thought pattern and help change the mood and behaviors.

• Combination of Both of These: Combined with both techniques may give good results in some people.

• Lifestyle Changes: These include having nutritious food, doing regular exercise, which increases the release of endorphins, which helps relieve depression, and avoiding substance abuse may help relieve depression and smile depression.

• Light Therapy: In this therapy, a light box is used, and bright light is used to treat the seasonal affective disorder.

• Stress Management: Techniques to manage stress may help reduce symptoms.

• Electroconvulsive Therapy: It is a safe and controlled procedure used when other techniques cannot solve depression.

Complications of Smiling Depression:

Smiling depression hides a condition a person is suffering and may be prevented from recognizing the need for help. Delaying treatment can impact a person’s life. If the condition persists for a long time and becomes chronic, there is a risk of major depressive disorder.

Untreated depression can result in:

• Weight changes.

• Chronic pain.

• Substance abuse like drug or alcohol.

• Self-harming behaviors like cutting or suicide.

Is Smiling Depression Dangerous?

One of the remarkable symptoms of depression is low energy, but in smiling depression, energy levels are not affected. They may experience low energy levels when they are alone. The risk of suicide is higher among these individuals. Smiling depression can also promote negative thoughts about oneself and later increase the risk of suicide due to feelings of guilt, failure, loneliness, and embarrassment.

Conclusion:

Smiling depression is a condition where affected people suffer from depression but do not show it outside the world and mask it behind a smile. Suicide is one of the threats to smile depression. Hence, its symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment need to be known. Knowing this helps an individual to seek help from a healthcare professional early. Early diagnosis leads to effective treatment. This, in turn, helps achieve a quality and healthy life.

A Note From iCliniq

Smiling depression is seen in people who try to hide their feelings with a smile on their faces. Causes of smiling depression are fear, guilt, embarrassment, rejection, difficulty in asking for help, and backlashing fear. It is important to watch out for the signs and symptoms of depression because, in many people, it may go unnoticed and untreated, leading to complications such as suicide.

Talking to people with smiling depression about their concerns and assuring them that they are not alone can make a lot of difference in these people. Seeking help from psychologists and friends can prevent complications of smiling depression.