Most of the time, this wasnt me at all.
And even when it was, I managed to keep it hidden.
I heard a lot of Youre the last person Id imagine to be depressed!
Micaiah Carter
or But you have so much going for you, and How can someone like you have depression?
The cumulative effect of all this unhelpful commentary was mighty.
Within just the last few years, the phrase high-functioning depression came on my radar.
Its pretty impossible to pinpoint where the phrase high-functioning depression originated.
So someone with MDD has a baseline mood that is far below the average individuals baseline.
Silverman explains that in theDSM-5, experts essentiallycollapsed two mood disorderschronic major depressive disorder and dysthymiainto one: PDD.
(Today PPD and dysthymia are often used interchangably.)
When MDD lasts for two or more years, it is typically then classified as chronic.
The symptoms for the two disorders are somewhat different and can be confusing, Silverman says.
(you’re free to learn more about the very subtle differenceshere.)
However, in the case of MDD versus PDD, its not always efficient or clear, he says.
Another question becomes, which diagnosis trumps the other?
That is, MDD or PDD?
Who wouldnt rather be considered high-functioning even if depressed, versus persistently depressed?
There is a little less stigma attached if one can still manage to function.
Thus, I must not really be depressed, he goes on.
They often self-diminish the seriousness of their own disorder.
The internalized message is that the way they feel is not a concern and that help isnt warranted.
So if a client refers to herself as having high-functioning depression then thats the language we use.
But otherwise, this isnt a term that she finds to be clinically useful, she says.
In fact, I was more than high-functioningI was high-achieving.
I was getting engaged and pregnant and married and fulfilling all my adult responsibilities.
In short, I was doing everything healthy, happy people doand then some.
On the surface, I was winning at life.
I was someone to admire, to be proud of.
But on the inside, I was struggling big time.
Its the internal experience that Mastin pointed out thats so crucial when it comes to getting help.
Treatment for depression looks similar across the board.
Clinicians and doctors work with the individual to alleviate the symptoms of depression with therapy and/or medication.
The treatment is specific to the symptoms, not the diagnosis.
You are not your diagnosis; the diagnosis is just one part of who you are.
Recognizing thisand truly believing it, which is the hard parthas been a crucial part of my own recovery.
At the same time, Im aware that the phrasing may be problematic for some people.
