Functioning Depression: What Does it Mean When Depression Lingers

There are many misnomers around depression. One is that it is just sadness. Another is that it is rooted in a negative experience – a break-up, job loss, or something else. People think you can power your way through depression or just look on the bright side and things will be better. But as anyone who lives with this pervasive disease can tell you, none of those above statements are true. There is such as thing as functioning depression.

Depression is not just a sad day. It is not being down because the weather is bad, or it was a hard day at work. It is not feeling glum because your team isn’t doing well or missing your youngest who just went off to college. This can be sadness, grief, or disappointment. It lasts for a day or two and then you can function normally and not be consumed by whatever got you down.

Depression is more than sadness or disappointment. It is, at its core, a feeling of emptiness. It’s a lack of motivation. It can even lead to a sense of hopelessness and an inclination that all we are is a burden.

Anyone can get hit with a season of depression. Normally these last anywhere from six to eight months and can be treated with medication, therapy, exercise, and other healthy activities. But what if despondency lingers? What if seasons come and go, winter fades to summer and back again, and the lack of motivation, inability to concentrate, low self-esteem, and loss of interest in what you used to love – lingers?

What if even after medication, trying to exercise, eating better, and going to counseling, each day still feels like a grind you are trying to survive with your brain in concrete? What if doing what we “should” do does little to move the needle of our mood?

It is possible that what you have is not simply depression – which is in and of itself hard enough. If symptoms linger for a year or more, you might have functioning depression.

There is no medical definition for functioning depression. People who have it are often able to do things like maintain a job, have a social network, and be there for friends and family, in ways those suffering from the more general form of depression cannot. A person with functioning depression can, for all intents and purposes, not display any signs.

Another word for functioning depression is dysthymia or persistent depressive disorder. And the key is that it lingers. One definition puts the timeline at two years. While others might experience a season of depression, or experience a phase of it brought on by trauma or another inciting incident, functioning depression can linger for years like a gray cloud we cannot shake.

It is important to talk to a counselor. One of the keys to treating functioning depression is medication and counseling. As anyone who has depression can tell you, powering through does not help.

Because the symptoms can be milder, a person can have functioning depression and not realize it. If symptoms linger – self-doubt, tiredness, changes in eating, irritability, without a reason as to why (life change, traumatic event, stressful season, etc.) it might be time to call a counselor.

The counselors at our office are here to help. Even if you don’t think you are depressed but issues are lingering, call us. We would love to help you understand what is going on and come up with a way to move forward.