"High-functioning depression has been increasingly entering mental health discussions in recent years, but it has not yet entered the diagnostic guidelines as a legitimate diagnosis. The term describes a chronic, low-grade dysphoria that does not prevent functioning in obvious ways but makes life feel hollow and mechanical. You might notice the changes only subtly at first. Joy has become muted, and you need to make an effort just to get a little excited."
"We can think of the mechanism of high-functioning depression this way: At some point in your life, perhaps due to complex trauma or because the mental burden on you had become overwhelming, your psyche created an internal split. Indeed, some degree of compartmentalization or developing an outward-facing persona to cope with worldly demands is actually a rather common coping mechanism."
High-functioning depression is a chronic, low-grade dysphoria that allows outward functioning while creating a hollow, mechanical experience of life. Early signs include muted joy, increased effort to feel excitement, bodily heaviness, and disrupted sleep either as hypersomnia or relentless insomnia. The psyche may form an internal split, creating an outward high-functioning part to meet demands and a depressed part that carries pain. Compartmentalization and parentification can teach prioritizing others while suppressing personal suffering. Prolonged reliance on short-term coping can harden into rigid patterns, and integration requires reconciling vulnerabilities and allowing the whole self to be seen.
Read at Psychology Today
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