2023-10-27 16:45:20
On the occasion of European Depression Day, this Friday, October 27, psychologist Hélène Romano recalls the existence of little-known signs of depression, far removed from the symptoms commonly accepted in the collective imagination.
Signs that go once morest the popularized narrative. When we talk regarding depression, we inevitably think of sadness, isolation, crying, and neglect.
But be careful, certain signs of depression appear at the opposite end of the spectrum from these commonly accepted symptoms, and are therefore difficult to detect by loved ones.
A SUDDEN CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR
Many depressive disorders are not that visible, in the process that will lead a person to this state. And for good reason, the changes occur gradually over weeks and months, making them less visible. “Loved ones can very quickly feel guilty for not having realized it sooner,” notes the psychologist.
The difficulty also lies in the fact that people experiencing depression will rarely seek help initially, whereas they might be taken care of when they are still at the stage of depressive disorders (Editor’s note: not to be confused with depression, they refuse help, trivialize their condition and are in denial).
“When we see them in consultation, it is often at the request of their loved ones, or because they have acted out (suicide attempt, state of intoxication, etc.),” explains Hélène Romano .
“TRAUMATIC PLAY” IN CHILDREN
Play, as an indicator of a child’s psychological state, is little known by parents and professionals. However, watching a child play gives a lot of information regarding their level of development and their way of relating.
Traumatic play is one of the signals that can alert those around a child. The depressed child no longer plays or plays confusing or sad games, repetitively and compulsively.
“One of my patients was a child in first grade whose mother died of cancer. During a birthday, she suggested to her classmates that they play chemo. So there was a Barbie doll, whose hair had to be cut and buried,” recalled Hélène Romano.
“This little girl was trying to manage her suffering and her grief over the loss of her mother, faced with the denial of a family who denied her psychological pain, wrongly thinking that she was too young, and that she “I didn’t understand what happened,” she continued.
Children will sometimes use play to try to integrate a traumatic event or situation, by which they are overwhelmed. They will then re-enact these events in which they are stuck.
The excesses
In psychology, we talk regarding internalized isolation behaviors – the most commonly accepted – and externalized isolation behaviors.
They then manifest themselves through excesses (parties, shopping, games, etc.), much more noisy and conspicuous, but of which we are unaware of the depressive dimension: “This can mask the attention that we will pay to the person, because we see her very excited, uninhibited by what she has ingested, etc. This is the reason why the signs are not always those that we know like sadness, sadness, pain,” indicates psychologist Hélène Romano.
Other people will make excessive purchases, or for example multiply cosmetic surgery operations, in dysmorphophobic behavior, behind which serious depression is often hidden. We are then far from the common image of the depressed person who is no longer able to take care of themselves.
Addictions
“People withdraw from others and from life, but sometimes paradoxically, withdrawal can manifest itself in addictive behavior, in taking various and varied toxins, which can give the impression that the person has a very happy life,” according to Hélène Romano.
As with excesses, these behaviors are not seen as deliberate isolation, but can, in the long term, lead a depressed person into a situation of social disruption.
Under or overinvestment in school
We often tend to think that depressed children no longer work or are no longer involved in school. While this may be true for some children, others will take the opposite direction.
Falling school grades are not always a sign of depression, and some depressed children overinvest in school to combat their dark thoughts.
“They are going to be very involved because it allows them to fight once morest a collapse. But when we ask them regarding their plans, there is no pleasure. They don’t like school, but can be very good academically,” explains Hélène Romano.
“It can be a gateway for teachers because there is often a gap between academic results and relationships. They are nearby,” she concluded.
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