Depression is a common mental disorder that can come in many forms. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that 3.8 percent of the world population suffers from depression, and 5 percent of adults experience depression in their lifetime.
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Additionally, a 2018 study found that 34 percent of Jordanian adolescents suffer from moderate to severe depression. Depression can be difficult to diagnose and treat because people’s symptoms can be exhibited and expressed differently. Even friends and family may find it difficult to determine if someone they care about is suffering.
What is smiling depression?
Depression is typically associated with sadness, lethargy, and despair. Smiling depression is when an individual is suffering from depression internally but hides their symptoms externally.
Smiling depression is not formally recognized as a condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Nevertheless, smiling depression is very real, and if identified in the future by the DMS-5, it would be considered a major depressive disorder with atypical features.
Depression is felt in different ways. Common symptoms include changes in weight, appetite, lack of sleep or sleeping too much, feelings of lethargy, hopelessness, and apathy. An individual with smiling depression may experience some or all the typical symptoms but mask these feelings in front of others.
A third party may describe someone with smiling depression as active, highly functional, happy, cheerful, and even optimistic. However, the feelings associated with smiling depression may be more extreme than those with regular depression, as they will use brute force to try and solve their problems.
Individuals with smiling depression may think that showing signs of depression is considered a weakness and that sharing or revealing symptoms of their depression would burden others. Thus, they would constantly reassure themselves that they are “fine” and that they do not have depression and dismiss their feelings due to the belief that others have it worse than them.
Despite their attempts at masking or dismissing their depression, these individuals still may feel that the world is better off without them. With depression, suicidal thoughts are not uncommon.
Research is being conducted to analyze the link of suicide with energy levels, considering one of the significant differences between depression and smiling depression is activity levels.
Theories discussing the higher risk of suicide amongst those with smiling depression are being studied. The initial thesis is that people with depression are less likely to commit suicide due to low activity levels. In comparison, those with smiling depression are at higher risk due to their increased activity levels. However, no factual findings have been shared yet.
Who is at risk?
Due to smiling depression not being a recognized condition, there is no way to diagnose it correctly. As a result, virtually no data exists on why or how this form of depression manifests and who is susceptible. Currently, there are a few theories on what the risk factors may be, the predominant two being social media and culture.
The theory addresses the fact that people do not post bad or negative content on their social media. Instead, they only post the positive, impacting social media users by creating a sort of an alternate reality. This reality inhibits users from confronting their internal feelings. Instead, it encourages them to fixate on their presentation online, which may ultimately translate to their behavior in the real world.
This is done to show others that they are “living their best life,” even if it is untrue. Alternatively, consumers of this media may only see positive posts and content from their friends and family, which would give off an illusion that everyone else has their life together. Therefore they feel the need to do the same.
You may often hear the phrase “fake it until you make it,” and due to its widespread presence, people may knowingly only share positive moments of their life in an attempt to make themselves feel better. But, unfortunately, this is only further facilitating smiling depression as it acts as practice for them — encouraging them only to share positive emotions in real life.
Culture may also have a significant impact on the prevalence of smiling depression. In nations that have a strong stigma against mental disorders, the prevalence of smiling depression is higher. Unfortunately, Jordan falls under this category.
A 2017 study in Jordan attempted to assess the public stigma towards mental illnesses, and their findings were quite drastic. In this study, the researchers gave participants negative statements surrounding different mental illnesses and collected data on the number of participants that agreed with these negative statements.
When asked about depression, 68 percent of participants agreed with the statement that people with depression are “hard to talk to.” Similarly, 17 percent agreed that they “have only themselves to blame for their condition,” 21 percent agreed that they “would not improve if given treatment,” and 25 percent agreed that they “could pull themselves together if they wanted.”
The high prevalence of stigma in Jordanian culture forces individuals to suppress their true feelings and any symptoms they may be exhibiting. The reasons for prejudice and stigma surrounding mental disorders in Jordan are complex and even intriguing. If you are interested in reading the study, it is titled “Public Stigma Toward Mental Illness in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Family Members of Individuals with Schizophrenia, Depression, and Anxiety” is available on the website ResearchGate.
Regardless of the reasons, the demographic of people susceptible to smiling depression has yet to be thoroughly investigated. But, generally speaking, depression disproportionally impacts more women than men.
On the other hand, men are 2–4 times more likely to commit suicide. This may be the direct result of smiling depression. If smiling depression can be accurately diagnosed in the future, we could potentially see the disparity between men and women shrink.
How to treat smiling depression
When it comes to smiling depression, treatment is not the primary focus, but more so knowing when to get treatment. If you feel as though you may be depressed, speak with a healthcare professional, and they can refer you to a psychiatrist to better diagnose you.
It is essential for a third party to get involved when it comes to smiling depression. Being able to identify smiling depression is extremely difficult. If you know someone may be facing some difficulties and not discussing them, they may be suffering from smiling depression.
Dialogue is essential to helping those suffering from smiling depression. Establish a line of communication with friends, family, and loved ones. Make them feel safe and that they can come and speak to you about their feelings.
To receive a diagnosis, you should have a proactive approach to managing your depression. Unfortunately, some individuals may not even know they are depressed due to a lack of awareness of the disorder or because they are in denial.
Treatment for smiling depression is similar to treatment for other types of depression. The treatment may include medication, talk therapy, and lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise.
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