Liu Cuimei.
Not all people with depression always wash their faces with tears, and some people will use superficial optimism and cheerfulness to hide their true feelings deep inside. This type of depression is often referred to as "smiling depression."
There is a classic story about smiling depression: in the 20th century, a depressed patient in England went to see a doctor, and the doctor told him that a particularly humorous person came to the city and told a joke on the street for three days, which made the whole city laugh, and suggested that the patient go to him to talk to him, which can help the condition. The patient looked at the doctor and said helplessly, "I'm the humorous person you said." ”
In psychiatric outpatient clinics, patients are often heard telling doctors that their usual laughter and brilliance are all illusions, but behind the smile, there is pain that no one knows. "In fact, my heart is very painful, I often have insomnia at night or sleep very shallowly, dreamy, recently I often feel powerless at work, work efficiency has decreased significantly, my mind often feels unclear, I often feel tired and weak, and I am very reluctant to deal with people. But in order not to let his colleagues find out about the abnormality, he tried to cover it up, sometimes deliberately exaggerated jokes, and thus entered a vicious circle, the more painful he became, the more he tried to disguise, and finally reached the verge of collapse, and he could no longer disguise it. "Some of the patients who couldn't hold back started crying in the consultation room.
The essence of smiling depression is still depression, but it wears a mask of "smile" on the surface, what makes them "hurt and smile"?According to the analysis, there may be the following reasons:
One is the person who is usually strong, pursues perfection, and has strong self-control, and the kind of person who has been instilled from an early age to "pay attention to his own image in front of outsiders", and in the long run, he has formed a behavior pattern of showing a very self-disciplined image in front of outsiders. Both types of people behave appropriately in specific social situations, even in a depressive state.
The other is people who work in the service industry, their smiles have become part of their profession, and it is difficult to see their unpleasant expressions as long as they can keep working. There are also those who have a high level of social function or social status before illness, who are worried that others will see their vulnerability, or because of the inner nature of being strong on the outside and working in the middle, and save their self-confidence by "slapping their swollen faces and becoming fat" after they are depressed.
For the sake of the public's mental health, it is necessary to increase the popularization of science, improve the public's correct understanding of their own depression, know that their low mood is in an abnormal state, and deliberately cover up will not solve the problem, and seek professional help in time to avoid delays**.