When facing mental health problems, seeking professional help is always the safest and most effective option. But in reality, many people may choose to temporarily hide their state because of fear, social pressure, or other reasons. The following are some suggestions to help understand this dilemma, while emphasizing the importance of safety as a prerequisite： --- ### **1. Control external performance (risks need to be carefully weighed)** -**Emotional management skills**: Practice deep breathing, short meditation, or self-suggestion to maintain superficial calm in social situations. But long-term suppression of emotions may exacerbate the problem. -**Divert attention**: Reduce others' attention to their own state by participating in relaxing topics, humor, or listening to others. -**Imitate “normal” behavior**: Observe and imitate the social patterns of the people around you, but be aware that this may bring psychological depletion. --- ### **2. Strategies to deal with external concerns** -**Preset explanation**: Prepare neutral excuses for abnormal behavior (such as “poor sleep recently” and "high work pressure”), but avoid overuse to avoid being questioned. -**Selective avoidance**: Reduce in-depth contact with people who may perceive abnormalities, but note that isolation may increase loneliness. -**Digital camouflage**: Maintain a positive image on social media, but be wary of psychological gaps that may be caused by contrasting reality. --- ### **3. Potential ways of self-management** -**Use resources privately**: Anonymous hotlines, online psychological counseling, or self-help apps (such as CBT tools) can provide low-risk support. -**Symptom record**: Privately record the patterns of mood swings to seek help and accumulate information for the future. -**Maintain the inertia of life**: Maintain the regularity of diet, sleep and exercise, but be wary of turning it into compulsive behavior. --- ###**Important reminder** -**Incremental risk**: Hidden symptoms may be effective in the short term, but mental health problems often worsen over time. For example, untreated patients with depression may experience somatic symptoms (such as unexplained pain). -**Safety net construction**: Even if you choose to conceal it, you should ensure that at least one trusted person or crisis hotline can provide emergency support. -**Principle of Medical confidentiality**: Professional psychological counseling/medical treatment has strict confidentiality agreements, except when it involves the risk of self-injury or injury. --- ###**Alternative advice: A low-risk way to seek help step by step** 1. **Anonymous channels**: Tentatively express distress through online consultation by non-profit organizations or mental health forums. 2. **Cut into physical symptoms**: Seek medical attention on the grounds of physical problems such as insomnia and fatigue, and gradually guide doctors to pay attention to psychological factors. 3. **Progressive disclosure**: First disclose “slight pressure” to a friend with strong empathy, observe the reaction and then decide whether to go deeper. --- ###**Emergency response** If you have the idea of self-destructing or harming others, please contact a trusted person immediately or call a psychological crisis hotline (such as the China Psychological Crisis Hotline: 400-161-9995). Survival takes priority over any hidden strategy. --- Remember, mental illness is not a personal defect, just like physical illness requires treatment. Temporary concealment may be for self-protection, but in the long run, professional support can bring real relief. You deserve to be listened to and helped, even if you are not ready to face it now.