Hiding Depression: Using Perfectionism to Hide Our Struggles

Are you always in control and always perfectly put together? Are you professionally successfully, a great friend, and always showing a happy face to the world? But what about on the inside? Is there something in the background or in the past that you don’t talk about?  Do you feel disconnected, like no one knows the real you? Deep down do you just know something is wrong? Well, you might have “perfectly hidden depression.”

Today Gabe speaks with Dr. Margaret Rutherford who has done extensive work on the relationship between perfectionism and depression. Dr. Rutherford tells us how childhood trauma can lead to the development of coping mechanisms that don’t serve us as adults and how those behaviors might be masking depression. Then she shares how to challenge those beliefs and show ourselves the same compassion we would give to anyone else.

Guest Information for 'Hidden Depression' Podcast Episode

 

Dr. Margaret Rutherford, a clinical psychologist, has practiced for twenty-six years in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Earning the 2009 Arkansas Private Practitioner of the Year award for her volunteer work at a local free health clinic, she began blogging and podcasting in 2012 to destigmatize mental illness and educate the public about therapy and treatment. With a compassionate and common-sense style, her work can be found at https://DrMargaretRutherford.com, as well as HuffPost, Psych Central, Psychology Today, The Mighty, the Gottman Blog and others. She hosts a weekly podcast, SelfWork with Dr. Margaret Rutherford. And her new book, Perfectly Hidden Depression: How to Break Free from the Perfectionism that Masks Your Depression, will be published by New Harbinger in November 2019.

About The Psych Central Podcast Host

Gabe Howard is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations, available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author. To learn more about Gabe, please visit his website, gabehoward.com.