HIDDEN DEPRESSION: 5 Signs You're Smiling, But Depressed

A key component of depression is feeling significantly sad and down. As such, if you have been smiling often, other people may not have suspected that you may be struggling with depression— and you may not have realized it, either.

Even if you have been smiling and acting cheerful, have you also been feeling exhausted and depressed, perhaps from keeping up appearances, or from avoiding your more difficult emotions?

It is important to be honest with yourself and assess whether or not you may be battling depression, so that you can address it sooner and seek proper help.

DISCLAIMER: This video is not intended to diagnose or self-treat. This video is also not meant for diagnosis or to attack anyone with these qualities or to diagnose any individual. If you believe you may be struggling with mental illness, please reach out to a trusted mental health provider.

Writer: Paula C.
Script Editor: Brie Cerniglia
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

References

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.​

[rynb]

im really scared of venting to someone as they could be suffering worse than me. i always think to myself that i shouldn't be depressed because, well, i'm me. no one sees me as a sad person so i guess i've been trying to live up to that expectation. i find myself denying the fact that im sad and going out of my comfort zone even though my mind is screaming at me to stop. thanks psych2go for this amazing and educational vid, stay safe everyone <333

[ezzelmougy]

0:38 Destructive perfectionism
1:40 Belittling your own hardships in comparison to others
2:26 Guilt
3:06 Toxic people around you
3:43 Running from negative feelings

[Akari_]

"I'm fine. I don't have it as bad as others"
That hit me really hard. Honestly, that is probably my main reason for convincing myself it's nothing. I have been doing it for every little problem I face and I feel like that literally sums up my life. I never expected any video I watch to include that detail. It really caught me off guard

[laliboo]

This speaks my truth. I never know how to ask help and it’s scary sometimes that I’m the only one that keep me up from being depressed. I avoid being sick, looking weak and suppress feelings. I’m scary to voice all this to my bipolar partner because they can spiral thinking that they are the cause why I’m like this

[l___b___d___]

Right now, at 11:53 p.m., I was crying in front of my family. Because they stated I was overreacting to minor matters, I felt terrible embarrassment. When I couldn't recall what I did yesterday, I sobbed in front of them because it made me feel so miserable. My mother informed me that only mad people would respond the same way I did, and my father advised me to stop crying since it would only make the situation worse. I attempt to reassure myself that I am well and that stress is natural; yet, I feel like my family is currently criticizing me due to my mental breakdown.

[stardew.flower]

This really hit me.
I tell myself whenever I feel depressed that I'm just overreacting and that I'll get over it. I keep a smile around everyone and I worry if I'm a burden on everyone, that I don't deserve what I've been given. I try to keep my reputation of being nice, kind and a good student so people don't wonder about me.
I asked my close friends about this and even then, I still feel empty.
Sorry about this, I just wanted somewhere to vent how real this felt to me.

[khalilahd.]

I used to relate to so many of these points but when I stopped hiding from my feelings and got help I grew so much. I hope the people who still relate to this can heal too. Thanks for bringing awareness to this Psych2go 💜

[endergamerboi]

This really makes me think about myself.
I am always keeping up an appearance that I'm fine, because I don't want the people around me to think that I'm faking it for attention, or to start looking at me in a different way and stop telling me things about themselves, or worse, me that are upsetting them.
I have been dealing with this stuff for a while, but I have been having it much better due to these videos. It feels better knowing somebody out there cares.

[thebigrdfox]

About "Guilt". Recently, a person I really care about has distanced itself because of the many carelessness I had with myself.

Comparing myself a lot to others, not caring about eating well, being too slow to socialize with other people, and many many other things.

I noticed that a lot of things on my life have been based around of "it wasn't enough, you are not doing enough", and honestly, having this feeling hurts a lot.

And now here I am, telling some stuff happening in my life to random people on the internet.

[oreomaster]

I've seen a lot of signs and I feel I have a huge amount of anxiety depression, I've spoken to my school counselor a little about it and she's helped, but it's still hard to get more help.

[Psychgo]

If you could reverse something in life, what would that be and why?

[YouCaughtSquidney]

I can say from my own experience that people who have seemingly "perfect" and "easy" lives, won't always feel that way. Everyone should understand that depression hurts, no matter how great their lifestyle is ; Take the people who confess their hurt and sadness seriously, it takes a lot of courage. Stay strong ❤

[Vnu_Strz]

I’m really trying to keep up this impression that “I’m fine!” All my life My parents have brushed aside my feelings. If I’m upset or in a bad mood then I’m “just hungry” or “just tired” I hate it. I want people in my life to see that I’m struggling but I can’t vent to people because I don’t trust people anymore. I can’t vent because I feel like they probably have if so much worse than me and like my “best friend” used to say; “you just want attention stop pretending to be hurt lol!” I was 6 and I got sexually abused by my “best friend” I can’t emotionally connect with people because my worries surround me and I don’t know how to hide them. My grades have been dropping in school and it’s getting really hard. My parents got divorced this year and I used to be this perfect girl who would always have good grades and have a “perfect life” now school is so stressful and I keep beating myself up. I can’t help but check my weight 3 or 4 times a day and comparing myself to others. I’m sorry… I’m just so tired. I just want to have someone who actually loves me and isn’t using me for my body. I just want somebody to love me again. I just want to be okay.

[dreqmy]

I honestly relate to this. I have this fear of being judged which leads to me not opening up to anyone. My mom always tells me that there's nothing to be depressed about and that i don't really have any problems in life. If i try to tell her how I feel she just tells me that I'm being ungrateful and not appreciating the things I have. I honestly don't know what to do anymore or who to talk to. 😔🔫

[Jader_OnWii]

i hate asking others for help for several reasons, one of them being the fact that i dont act depressed and normally im making jokes and stuff so im scared they wont believe me, the other reason being im just too scared to ask for help because i dont see anyone else asking for help so i dont wanna be judged for the the only known depressed one here and i also just feel like i cant be depressed, my life isnt even that bad sure i get bullied and everyone ive trusted turned out to be a liar but thats it i have a caring family, a roof over my head what do i really have to be depressed about?

[soberwaterhose]

Oh.. I relate to all of them! But I don't really know if I actually have depression. Thank you for the information psch2go! Love your videos

[cy]

I've been through all of these. Yet, I just realized about it. But now, I guess I've recovered from it.But I still do experience these every once in a while. It's comforting to know that there are people out there that understands these things too. God bless you all❤️

[CognitioMilano]

That's exactly how I feel, I never tell people about my problems, I'm just afraid they won't understand. Thank you for that video

[psychgomandarin]

0:00 intro
0:38 1、Destructive perfectionism
1:38 2、Belittling your own hardships in comparison to others
2:26 3、Guilt
3:04 4、Toxic people around you
3:42 5、Running from negative feelings
4:29 outro

[nomoreamongusmemes]

I worry about everything, try to keep my personality cheerful and happy and at the end of the day I'm worn Out. I always put everything into my hands and if something goes wrong I'll blame it on myself. Even if you do have the same symptoms, it doesn't mean you have depression. It's like taking a gamble.

Well here I am sharing my life with random people on the internet, a coping strategy I do is I try think of other people more than myself. You can fal into the trap of caring for everyone except yourself.