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When Depression Hides Behind A Smile · WholeHeart Conversations

• 0:00
  Constance Lavonice: 29% of adults in the United States reported currently having or being treated for depression in a recent Gallup poll for the first quarter of the year 2026.
• 0:19
  Constance Lavonice: Globally, almost 6% of adults suffer from depression, and that's according to the World Health Organization.
• 0:28
  Constance Lavonice: Depression is isolating, deceptive, and sometimes for the person experiencing it, it seems unrelenting.
• 0:42
  Constance Lavonice: Depression, however, is normal and treatable, but sometimes it's difficult to recognize when it shows up as a smile.
• 0:58
  Constance Lavonice: If you're new here, welcome.
• 1:02
  Constance Lavonice: This is Whole Heart Conversations, a podcast for women that provides biblical encouragement to foster whole heart, spirit, soul, and body resilience.
• 1:17
  Constance Lavonice: I'm your host, Constance Lavonice.
• 1:21
  Constance Lavonice: What is depression?
• 1:23
  Constance Lavonice: Depression manifests itself mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
• 1:31
  Constance Lavonice: Mentally, it shows up as difficulty thinking or concentrating, excessive guilt, distorted thoughts about yourself and others, thoughts of death, questioning whether you should live, thoughts of not wanting to be here, wanting to disappear, and sometimes suicidal thoughts.
• 2:00
  Constance Lavonice: Emotionally, it looks like depressed mood, sadness, feelings of worthlessness, a loss of hope, apathy, anger, irritability, a loss of interest in things you used to enjoy.
• 2:22
  Constance Lavonice: Physically, you may notice changes in your appetite and fluctuations in weight, either weight gain or weight loss, difficulty sleeping.
• 2:37
  Constance Lavonice: You're either unable to fall asleep or stay asleep, restlessness, behaviors such as pacing and fidgeting, or just slowing down physically, fatigue, walking slowly, a slumped posture, not taking care of yourself, brushing your teeth, not getting dressed, staying in bed, getting in bed during the day, not doing household chores, not cooking meals, unexplained aches and pain, fatigue, and loss of energy.
• 3:23
  Constance Lavonice: Spiritually, depression can lead to a disconnect with God affecting our relationship.
• 3:32
  Constance Lavonice: And even though depression is normal and treatable, it can become fatal when it goes unnoticed or untreated.
• 3:44
  Constance Lavonice: And that's the danger of the smile.
• 3:49
  Constance Lavonice: In order for it to be treated or noticed, someone has to say something or notice something and ask a question.
• 4:01
  Constance Lavonice: The smile often acts as a mask to cover what's really going on inside.
• 4:10
  Constance Lavonice: Not to say that a person can't smile when they're depressed, because they often do, and they often experience happiness and laughter, but depression seems to lurk in the background.
• 4:27
  Constance Lavonice: I've had clients describe it as being in a dark place, a heaviness, something that just takes over you.
• 4:40
  Constance Lavonice: The smile gives the impression to the outside world, your friends, your family, and others who care about you, that you're okay when you're not.
• 4:56
  Constance Lavonice: It isolates and prevents you from getting the help that you need.
• 5:03
  Constance Lavonice: Isolation can cause depression.
• 5:07
  Constance Lavonice: It makes us more vulnerable.
• 5:10
  Constance Lavonice: Like Eve in Genesis chapter three, when the serpent tempted her, she was alone.
• 5:19
  Constance Lavonice: The serpent came at a time when she was away from Adam.
• 5:27
  Constance Lavonice: And it's also one of the schemes of the devil.
• 5:32
  Constance Lavonice: And we've been talking about that in previous episodes.
• 5:37
  Constance Lavonice: The devil is always scheming.
• 5:41
  Constance Lavonice: Jesus says that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
• 5:50
  Constance Lavonice: John 10 10.
• 5:53
  Constance Lavonice: And the thief, the devil, is always active.
• 5:58
  Constance Lavonice: So in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, which is May in the United States, I want to encourage you if you have been feeling sad or notice any of the symptoms that I've mentioned.
• 6:15
  Constance Lavonice: Talk to someone.
• 6:17
  Constance Lavonice: Let someone know you're not the only one.
• 6:21
  Constance Lavonice: There's nothing new under the sun.
• 6:25
  Constance Lavonice: That's in Ecclesiastes one through nine.
• 6:30
  Constance Lavonice: God wants you to be well.
• 6:34
  Constance Lavonice: Depression says the opposite.
• 6:38
  Constance Lavonice: It deceives your mind.
• 6:40
  Constance Lavonice: It whispers, God doesn't care about me.
• 6:45
  Constance Lavonice: I must not be important.
• 6:47
  Constance Lavonice: Are you even real?
• 6:50
  Constance Lavonice: It asks the question: if you're real God, why am I depressed?
• 6:57
  Constance Lavonice: God comforts us.
• 7:01
  Constance Lavonice: He uses other people to comfort us when we go through difficulties.
• 7:06
  Constance Lavonice: Other people comfort us with the comfort that they have received.
• 7:12
  Constance Lavonice: Jesus said that He came to give us life and life more abundantly to enjoy the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
• 7:22
  Constance Lavonice: You don't have to live depressed.
• 7:26
  Constance Lavonice: There's help available, there are resources.
• 7:32
  Constance Lavonice: You can talk to someone you trust.
• 7:36
  Constance Lavonice: Contact the mental health professional.
• 7:40
  Constance Lavonice: Some professionals offer a 15-minute consultation where they would talk to you to assess what's going on and give you a recommendation for if you need treatment or not.
• 7:58
  Constance Lavonice: There's support groups, self-help groups, and in a lot of areas, churches have support groups and biblical counseling offices that's open to the community, especially in larger churches.
• 8:17
  Constance Lavonice: So that's an unknown resource to a lot of people.
• 8:23
  Constance Lavonice: And then you can always call, text, or chat 988, which is a national crisis lifeline where you can reach someone 24 hours a day to point you to the help that you need.
• 8:45
  Constance Lavonice: Get help or be the help for someone else.
• 8:52
  Constance Lavonice: Smile, but don't allow it to be a mask to hinder you from experiencing a fruitful life.
• 9:04
  Constance Lavonice: Love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, and everything else that the Holy Spirit provides.
• 9:14
  Constance Lavonice: And if this message resonated with you, subscribe and share it with someone who needs encouragement to take off the mask and be honest with someone.
• 9:28
  Constance Lavonice: If you need additional resources, you can email us at Wholeheart Women's Christian Counseling.
• 9:37
  Constance Lavonice: And don't forget to text the show and let me know what's on your heart.