When Your Depression Is Perfectly Hidden (Even from Yourself)

Natalie always had a smile on her face, even when discussing painful topics. She was a highly successful, hard worker and an involved, loving mother. In addition to her full-time job as an accountant, Natalie volunteered at her children’s school and in her community. Her house was immaculate. Every item had a place, everything was neatly labeled, and every appliance gleamed. So it was quite a shock to her therapist, Margaret Robinson Rutherford, Ph.D, when she found Natalie lying still in her bed with empty vodka and pill bottles by her side. Rutherford was helping Natalie work through her anxiety over juggling so many responsibilities. At the same time, she’d tell Rutherford, “I shouldn’t complain. I have it easy compared with most people.” That morning, Natalie’s husband, who was out of town, asked Rutherford to check on her. Natalie’s depression doesn’t resemble what we typically think of depression: a heavy, chilling darkness that siphons a person’s energy and prevents them from getting out of bed. And yet it’s just as serious, exhausting, and devastating. Rutherford, an Arkansas-based clinical psychologist, recounts Natalie’s poignant story (and others’ similar stories) in her new book Perfectly Hidden Depression: How to Break Free from the Perfectionism That Masks Your Depression. As Rutherford told Psych Central, perfectly hidden depression (PHD) isn’t a diagnosis. It’s a syndrome that consists of a group of behaviors and beliefs. In th...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Books Depression Disorders General Mental Health and Wellness Self-Help Stress Success & Achievement Source Type: blogs