[Music] hi psych Tagore's welcome back to our Channel today we would like to share an experience by one of our writers in siked ago about high-functioning depression and eight things people with high-functioning depression want you to know let's continue ever heard this from a witness on TV during a news report covering an instant tied to mental health I didn't know so-and-so was depressed they seemed so normal or overheard at work I bet so-and-so is just claiming depression because they want to stay home playing games truth is it's entirely possible maybe even likely that those people
they're talking about had depression depression is the umbrella term that covers many different types and it doesn't always present the same one of the most difficult to recognize is called high functioning depression and it's the Academy Award winning actor of the depressive disorders since one of its key characteristics is that the person who has it acts like a non disordered person at least on the surface like an actor it can even go by different names officially known as persistent depressive disorder or PDD and previously dis time eeeh this masking success can cause issues since there
is general disbelief that anything is wrong even when we cry out for help this in itself stems from continued lack of knowledge surrounding mental health issues and the stigma around it there tends to be fear in the unknown so although we might look like sunshine on the outside we're expending a Herculean effort to hide this storm inside we really want you to understand us so here are eight things we want you to know about high functioning depression 1 we constantly feel like we're bluffing even when we're not have you ever complimented someone for their incredible
work and their response is always something like I know I must have just gotten lucky or I know you're just being nice I just got lucky today I guess they might be suffering from imposter syndrome imposter syndrome is a psychological phenomena which makes us believe we are incompetent inadequate failures despite solid empirical evidence showing otherwise we feel a little like con artists who are bamboozling you into thinking we're competent no matter how qualified we actually are although we find it difficult to believe our own thoughts challenging these fallacies when the challenge comes from another person
it really helps outside confirmation and sincere encouragement helped to disprove our false beliefs too there is rarely obvious proof of our struggle and need for help this lack of visible proof is what usually has others calling us liars lazy or drama queens when we finally share what's going on inside I'm sure you can imagine how this discourages us from ever reaching out again truth is living with PDD can mean getting through the basics of everyday life like work is incredibly challenging yes we get things done but just at the baseline it's hard for people to
believe we're struggling since we don't appear to be falling apart or showing any other overt signs simply believing us when we ask for help and support is a massive blessing and we are grateful 3 my good day might just be your normal everyday how would an average day go maybe you wake up on time even though you didn't sleep so well and take a shower then go to work at work you complete the tasks you I planned you see donuts at the office but exercise your willpower and refuse one because you know you want to
be healthier and if day means you go home have dinner and calmly go to sleep feeling productive since you've got work done and you don't feel anxious about your life or your career does that sound pretty boring and normal guess what just described a rather good day for someone with PDD please try not to be dismissive if we seem really happy over doing something that to you might seem me for bad days are overwhelming and feel impossible so reading how average a good day is to someone with PDD can you imagine what a bad day
is like as shared by one person a bad day has them feeling guilty for wasting time with the struggle to wake up then going to work and having their brain gets stuck all day in loading mode like a YouTube video with bad Wi-Fi other things that could happen are crying without any real reason and just allowing many of the struggles nearly take over for example normally we'd struggle through our issues and clean the house but on a day like this we might complete cleaning a mug or single plate the rest is just too much please
be patient with us we're not stupid or lazy it might just be a bad day 5 getting through bad days requires massive amounts of energy even more than usual yes on top of feeling terrible there is a massive energy drain the mediocre work we managed to produce on a bad day actually takes longer than normal and wipes us out we also have almost no capacity to deal with people and our surroundings getting frustrated very easily everything compounds taking exponentially more and more energy when we're already nearly running on empty to use an analogy it's like
a bad night of eating at a fancy restaurant we're spending so much more and the product received is so much less and so now we're broke and still hungry then the situation worsens with food poisoning but we still have to drive everyone home if you see this happening we would very much appreciate it if you took over the driving duties we frequently struggle to focus and are not at the top of our game this isn't as easy as telling ourselves once in a while oh stop daydreaming we have to constantly keep a conscious tap on
our focus not grappling with it or checking on our focus can result in misunderstandings and distractions that prevent completion of anything blanking out and staring off into the distance becomes a regular habit if we're not careful please understand we're not ignoring you and we do think what you're saying is important we might just be at the height of the internal wrestling match 7 our average everyday means regular routines can often feel like performing an Olympic tryout twice in a row part of what makes living with high functioning depression overwhelming is the sheer exhaustion from routine
activities that most others do without skipping a beat we also are well aware that it shouldn't be that hard so now we feel like a waste of space we have a restricted finite supply of energy that just isn't being used efficiently so when we need help the energy required for that is often already being drained by keeping up that all is good facade plus running the internal automatic and perpetual self-criticism machine we're basically asking our energy bank to go into overdraft meaning things like self-care and sticking to plans are now a burden even so chances
are pretty good that we still want to get help we just don't know how to go about it and all that internal self-criticism leads to self-doubt do we deserve help will we really improve so yes high functioning pretty much just means we can hold a job and look ok it doesn't mean we're at zero risk of self-harm we would like to help ourselves but sometimes we can't do it on our own please don't hand wave us office check fine eight we're not weak because we asked for or receive help we are usually fairly self aware
of how we're different and we know what is often said about us so we also understand that when things like this make us despair the best course of action is to reach out for appropriate help reaching out isn't a show of weakness it shows that we are strong enough to face and acknowledge our shortcomings it also shows that we're strong enough to withstand that scary step of opening up to others and letting them in if you think stubborn walled up agonising is better just remember hermit crabs are pretty squishy inside so if we ask for
help please encourage us or even give an assist we'd be super grateful so there you have it the professional actor of persistent depressive disorder also known as high functioning depression or dysthymia just because you don't see what you expect doesn't mean it doesn't exist we would really appreciate for you to help and support us health can come in many forms from therapy to religion to intense work on self-help there is no singular correct method PDD sufferers like anyone else have the right to protect defend and enjoy their lives and have good health this might involve
having periods of despair and stagnancy and that's okay your simple belief and willingness to understand is a step in the progress towards eliminating the stigma of mental health does this give you insight into something you've seen lately or someone you know does this help explain or clarify anything you've been asking yourself please feel free to comment below catch you next time
