While I don't think that my depression will go away by pretending everything is fine, I find that it definitely helps me to keep pretending anyway. For me, I HAVE to pretend that I'm fine in order to go in to Uni and do my job. If I let that act drop, I can't function. I'm not saying that this is right for you, or that it is even a healthy thing to do all the time, but it definitely has a place in keeping me functioning in my life.

Yep, that's a big problem of pretending everything is ok unfortunately. I don't rly have an answer to that I'm afraid, though everyone close to me knows that I'm a very good actress and that it is all an act. And so they do occasionally remember this and ask how I am really doing.

I agree with the others that you need a safe place to talk honestly about how you feel with a counsellor/therapist, if you don't already have one. I see a counsellor fortnightly and it is the only place that I can let the mask slip for a bit and be honest with myself about how I really feel. I hope that you too get this opportunity.

Take care

*Willow*