Masked Depression - and it is okay.

I came across this article The One Thing No One Ever Says About Grieving which introduces the conversation about functioning and managed depression.  Some might argue that depression might have an association with suicide, or severe mental illness.  Depression.  It has many forms and shapes.  It can also mean that you are the same person and you have not changed; but, you are just not the same take-charge-get-up-and-go type person you were before the event that caused you to stall in your momentum.  Maybe, due to that one event or a course of many minor events you are more of an introvert, a recluse.  These events and or situationals can cause a type of grief state or a numbed state that is not what we generally see as depression.  This masked depression can be complexed because often family and close friends can miss the signs.  

I have been in the clinical setting and my colleagues have overlooked masked depression. How often have we seen a break up; a loss of a great job; or the loss of a horrible job; the occurrence of an empty nest; a tween-life crisis; transition from career you love; a shift in the family dynamics; the caring for an aging parent; a best friend’s relocation; the break up of a poker club; the loss of a member of your girl group due to her pregnancy; a sports team disappointing you; only, to cause a mood shift?  An unexplainable.  Not depression.  The down-in-the-dumps-mood-that-puts you-in-a-funk.  This is where some of us get into the reckless.  Alcohol or overeating perhaps.  Or just a decline in the standards and productivity at your work.  

These forms of grieving, melancholy, state of reverie, and sadness shape our moods and behaviors.  Recognition and aware create behaviors that course our short term and long term lives.  What is important to understand is having a mindfulness in how this grieving state affects your relationships - coworkers, bosses, business partners, children, parents, friends, spouses, and boy/girlfriends.  What would you do if you fell into this state?  How would you manage?  Who would you rely on for support to overcome challenges?  For support in managing grieving during your lifecycles, marriage; and, for relationship and marriage  counseling in Los Angeles Contact www.RenaldoStrayhorn.com

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