Latest / feel your feelings with Ethan Jewell / silently struggling with high functioning depression

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silently struggling with high functioning depression · feel your feelings with Ethan Jewell

• 0:00
  You know deep down that you're struggling.
• 0:03
  You've been having symptoms of depression, but they're not
• 0:06
  stopping you from living your life.
• 0:08
  Sure, some tasks are more difficult.
• 0:11
  Getting out of bed in the morning is hard.
• 0:13
  Falling asleep at night is harder.
• 0:15
  You've been self isolating. But you're not depressed because
• 0:19
  you're still functional, right? The depression isn't showing up
• 0:23
  in the way that you would expect it to, so you don't need to help
• 0:27
  your mental health, do you? Unfortunately, mental illness is
• 0:32
  not that simple. Sometimes it hides behind a
• 0:37
  facade of normalcy. It lurks beneath the surface,
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  plaguing you just enough to cause inner turmoil, but not
• 0:44
  enough to make you really pay attention.
• 0:48
  High functioning depression is a real problem and can be just as
• 0:52
  detrimental as any other mental illness.
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  So join me today and let's talk about high functioning
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  depression, what it is, how it can impact us and what we can do
• 1:01
  to help ourselves deal with it. My name is Ethan Jewell and
• 1:05
  welcome back to Feel Your Feelings.
• 1:11
  It would be a lot easier if mental illness was really cut
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  and dry. You could identify exactly how
• 1:16
  you feel, how you display how you feel and be able to move on
• 1:20
  from there. But unfortunately it isn't
• 1:22
  always so easy. Psychologist Don Potter states
• 1:27
  depression isn't always something you can see in others
• 1:30
  or pinpoint easily in yourself. For some people, depression
• 1:33
  lives under the surface. It can be extremely challenging
• 1:37
  to go about your day-to-day, but to the rest of the world, you
• 1:40
  seem to be doing reasonably well.
• 1:43
  This is referred to as high functioning depression and will
• 1:46
  be the topic for today's episode.
• 1:48
  For some, depression can be fully debilitating, making them
• 1:52
  unable to get out of bed, unable to go to work, unable to
• 1:55
  maintain connections and see friends.
• 1:58
  This is understood and seen as an acceptable form of mental
• 2:03
  illness. After all, it's relatively
• 2:05
  visible to other people, so that completely validates it.
• 2:09
  What happens when other people can't see the symptoms?
• 2:13
  What happens when the symptoms of depression linger under the
• 2:15
  surface, but don't fully stop you from engaging with your life
• 2:19
  as you normally do? This is where the problem with
• 2:22
  high functioning depression lies.
• 2:25
  These symptoms still exist under the surface.
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  These could include feeling sad or hopeless, becoming
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  disinterested in passions, trouble sleeping, difficulty
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  concentrating, negative thoughts about yourself or others.
• 2:40
  The truth is, high functioning depression can often feel the
• 2:44
  same as major depressive disorder, although somebody
• 2:48
  might not appear that way. Someone struggling with high
• 2:51
  functioning depression, maybe barely hanging on by a thread.
• 2:55
  The difference is almost like an external versus internal injury.
• 2:58
  If you break a leg or an arm, everyone will be able to see and
• 3:02
  know. But if you have some kind of
• 3:05
  illness or disease inside without many external symptoms,
• 3:09
  nobody will know and accommodate and sympathize and be there for
• 3:12
  you, even though you are struggling as well.
• 3:16
  This difference in handling symptoms can vary from person to
• 3:19
  person. Some people might be able to
• 3:22
  mask the symptoms and be high functioning, potentially
• 3:25
  convincing themselves that nothing is wrong.
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  After all, other people seemingly have it worse and are
• 3:30
  struggling more. So why would I need to address
• 3:34
  my depression? That's the mindset I lived with
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  for many years. I've struggled a lot with
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  depression and at times was incredibly high functioning.
• 3:45
  I went on multiple national tours for my music while feeling
• 3:49
  very depressed. I would work a 16 hour tour days
• 3:52
  while dealing with intense heavy depression symptoms.
• 3:55
  I felt worn down to the bone. This is a silent killer.
• 4:00
  On the surface. You may convince yourself that
• 4:03
  you don't need to address this kind of depression.
• 4:05
  If you're getting things done. Who cares if you feel a little
• 4:08
  bad? But that couldn't be further
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  from the truth. Untreated depression and the
• 4:14
  chronic stress, fatigue, and sadness caused by it can
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  literally destroy you from the inside out.
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  Some studies have found that untreated depression can lead to
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  aches and pains, chronic fatigue, changes in appetite,
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  and digestive issues. By ignoring these symptoms, you
• 4:29
  can literally experience more pain and fatigue in your body.
• 4:33
  This is not just a mental issue. It's not something you can just
• 4:36
  ignore. It goes deeper than that.
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  This can affect every aspect of your life.
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  This can affect your ability to get out of the bed in the
• 4:45
  morning without aches and pains. Not only that, but no matter how
• 4:50
  high functioning you may think you are, this kind of depression
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  will silently affect your relationships and achievements.
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  Because you are burdened by the underlying exhaustion and
• 5:01
  struggle that comes with high functioning depression, you
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  often won't feel the energy or have the time to pour into other
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  people or activities. Your hobbies will become less of
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  a priority. Seeing friends or family may
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  become less of a priority all because you are struggling and
• 5:19
  not addressing it. I don't want to sound dramatic,
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  but this is a real issue. A very real issue.
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  I want you to take this as a wake up call.
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  If you've been struggling with symptoms of depression but have
• 5:35
  been convincing yourself it isn't that bad because you can
• 5:37
  still function, please do something about it.
• 5:41
  Acknowledge that your depression and your struggle is just as
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  real as anybody else's, regardless of how functioning
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  you are. This process of recovery and
• 5:50
  changing your mindset looks different for everyone, but I
• 5:53
  recommend first educating yourself about this illness.
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  Look up high functioning depression and what you can do
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  if it's available for you. Look into options for therapy.
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  Practice self empathy and self-care.
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  Allow yourself to feel bad and don't feel like you have to keep
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  pushing through it. Build a support system and
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  express how you feel to loved ones.
• 6:14
  This is a very real issue. It's something that I personally
• 6:19
  wrote off for years and years. After all, if I could still
• 6:23
  function so well with this depression that was plaguing me,
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  why would I seek help? There are other people out there
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  struggling more. Somebody else's struggle does
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  not affect you just because somebody else may be struggling
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  more with depression. Just because somebody else may
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  be having a harder time in life, doesn't invalidate your own
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  fight. So please take high functioning
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  depression seriously. If you or somebody you know
• 6:53
  seems to be struggling with this, able to function well
• 6:57
  while suffering internally, please address it.
• 7:01
  Take it seriously. Do research on what you can do,
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  tell friends and family, but take it seriously.
• 7:08
  You do not have to struggle silently and alone.
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  You do not have to be convinced that you're doing fine just
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  because you can complete your tasks.
• 7:17
  It is OK to lean and to help. It is OK to have a hard day.
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  It is. OK, that's gonna wrap it up for
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  today's episode. Thank you so much for being
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  here. If you need more help feeling
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  your feelings, I recommend checking my music out on all
• 7:33
  platforms under the name of Ethan Jewel.
• 7:35
  I've got a new song called Do You Wanna Fall In Love coming
• 7:39
  out August 16th and I think you might really enjoy it.
• 7:43
  Also, shoot me a message on my Instagram at Jewel Boy under
• 7:46
  score and let me know what you thought about today's episode.
• 7:49
  So thank you so much for being here.
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  Thank you for understanding that high functioning depression is
• 7:54
  still depression. And as always, thank you for
• 7:57
  feeling your feelings. I'll see you next time.