How do people work full-time jobs while experiencing severe depression symptoms?

@fairmindedBlueberry3134 I don't have any advice 😞 just wanted to bump the post up and give some spirit hugs 💙

This is my experience: Back in the day, when I had depression (my depression started before my teens until my late 20s, now in my late 30s), I worked two jobs. Kept my hands and mind busy, so that I'm not dwelling on it while I worked. I kept many sides of myself, at work, I'm one person, when I'm home by myself in my room, I'm another person, when I'm with family, I'm someone else. So in other people's eyes, no one could tell I suffered from depression. At one point, during one time after work, my depression overtook my mind, and I acted out, became unreachable for 8 hours. Let's just say, that it almost ended in calling the Police to get help to look for me. It was during my depression days where I developed insomnia, and now, it has become a part of my biological clock. That I can still function normally with 4-6 hours of sleep.

Are you able to get counselling or anything therapeutic? What helped me most back then was attending a Psychodynamic Counselling Group. The session was three months long, led by a Psychologist and two counsellors as assistants. Then, I continued with individual counselling for another 3-6 months. I have been medication-free for more than 10 years now. I had been on medication for the longest time, ever since my early teens, or at an age where I was old enough to take medication that my then GP gave me some prescriptions for anti-depressants. I feel that depression will always be a part of my life, as I do get triggers and flashbacks whenever something specific happens, and it does affect my mood. But I don't think I'll be going back to who I was back then when my depression was severe.

I'm not sure if sharing my experience will help, but maybe it could provide some insights.

@fairmindedBlueberry3134