But You LOOK Just Fine: Unmasking Depression, Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder and Seasonal Affective Disorder

by Sahar Abdulaziz, Carol Sveilich

A revelatory book that shows, through words and pictures, how people can appear one way on the outside while feeling quite differently on the inside. Those who live with a mood disorder often wear a social mask of normalcy and calm even though they are living with disruptive psychic pain on the inside. Some people may be carrying around a traumatic event from the past that causes great despair, or they may be in constant inner turmoil, yet they present as being “just fine” in appearance and demeanor. This unique and practical resource offers candid counsel and acts as a user-friendly guide of innovative information and compassion to those with depression, anxiety disorders and other mood disorders. It is also a unique tool for mental healthcare providers. Included are creative coping tools and heartfelt insight from those individuals who know firsthand what it’s like to wake up with these disorders. The second volume in the “JUST FINE” series, this book offers a clear resource for individuals dealing with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, seasonal affective disorder, eating disorder, and many other mood disorders. The authors provide an in-depth discussion of each and explore vital topics including mood disorders disclosure; dating; looking one way while feeling another; impact on family; intimacy; employment and career; treatment options; spirituality; children and seniors; the connection between chronic pain and depression; not only surviving, but thriving; the “worry window”; how to help someone with a mood disorder; the military; and mind-body medicine. Often referred to as “a support group in a book”, the authors present a remarkable series of personal portraits and telling profiles, sharing the stories and experiences of men and women who each live with various mood disorders and mental health challenges. These poignant examples – once anonymous faces seen in a crowd, or perhaps within one’s own circle of family, friends or coworkers – will serve as a valuable reminder to those facing depression and anxiety disorders that they are not alone. By making these individual stories available and familiar, there is hope that a greater understanding and awareness of those experiencing chronic and unseen challenges might be realized. BACK If you want to know what it’s like to live with a mental illness, you ask the people living with one. Abdulaziz and Sveilich asked. Prepare to be surprised. Prepare to be enlightened. This book won’t disappoint. – John McManamy, author, Living Well with Depression and Bipolar Disorder Finally…a first-rate resource to hand to patients or to those with family members living with depression or any anxiety disorder. A SUPPORT GROUP IN A BOOK! – Sidney Cassell, MD, This book literally puts a FACE on mood disorders. My clients and colleagues will greatly benefit from this resource. – Nancy Gordon, LCSW

Genres: Psychology

472 pages, Paperback

First published February 7, 2013

About the author

2025 Winner: Fofky’s Reader’s Choice Award, Thriller category

2025 The Bookfest Awards Fall 2025 Second Place Fiction-Humor-Relationships

2025 The Bookfest Awards Fall 2025 Second Place, Fiction-Detective-Amateur Sleuths

2025 Finalist: The Book Excellence Award

2023 Finalist: Best Thriller Book Awards

2023 Semifinalist: Mystery, The Best of Indie 12th Annual Kindle Book Awards

2022 Winner, Firebird Book Award

2020 Finalist in The Wishing Shelf Book Award

2019 Winner of the Daybreak Press Book Award for Muslim Fiction

2019: Essay Winner, Women in Scrutiny Anthology; Brooklyn Girls Books

2019 Finalist in The Wishing Shelf Book Award

2019: Winner, Fofky’s Reader’s Choice Award

2016 Winner of the Community Written Expression Award

2016 Winner, AAN Sistah Chat Radio Women of Distinction Award

2016 Winner, Monroe County Image Awards Sistah Chat Radio Media Communication

“Abdulaziz is a master at crafting a thriller paced by truth.”


Suspense writer Sahar Abdulaziz is the author of seventeen books—including, But You LOOK Just Fine, The Broken Half, Tight Rope, Secrets That Find Us, The Gatekeeper’s Notebook, Unlikely Friends, Devoted Friends, Unexpected Friends, Forever Friends, Who Killed Gary?, Ashes, Dust, Who Killed Gary?; and her most recent, 2025 release: Who Killed Karen? Most of her work is in realistic fiction: psychological thrillers, suspense, and satire. She writes about characters facing complicated life challenges and is determined to tell their stories, eager to put pen to paper to share their compelling accounts.


Rep’d by Shaggy Dog Publications

Reviews

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book for people looking to have a better understanding of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, OCD, bi-polar disorders of multiple varieties, panic, and seasonal affective disorder. It covers issues varying from relationships to work to disclosure to disability, and the last section has personal stories from people who deal with varying disorders on a daily basis. It isn't medical advice and does not include a lot of documented research to support the claims (in other words please see your doctor) but I found it to be helpful for the outsider who has no idea what these things are like. The way it is written, it seems to oscillate between assuming the reader is an outsider to these things and thinking maybe the reader is suffering and looking for affirmation. I think this was a smart way to write the book, because it could easily go either way, and often people who suspect they might suffer from depression find information in a less threatening way, like a book.

I was just looking to understand all of these things more. I have seen myself get frustrated at work and with friends because of behavior I now understand to be related to dealing with depression. I guess I felt that learning more about it would help, not because I'm interested in treating anyone or giving medical advice, but to increase empathetic and compassionate reactions. I didn't want to fake it, I wanted to understand. I get that from my mother, reading a book to try to understand. :)

I particularly liked the section that distinguished "I'm feeling depressed," a word people mean when they are feeling down or sad, from actual depression. This has always confused me and it helped to have it spelled out a bit more.

Little bits I marked:

"Ironically many people do not seek help for depression because they are too depressed... Sleep deprivation and anxiety merely add fuel to the fire, stoking an already precarious situation."

How to help - realize that isolation is often a symptom of depression (but people need connection, so you need to reach out to them), persistence pays off, protect yourself while remaining present, you can only do what you can do, don't be afraid to ask. (All of these come with a lot more information, but I found them useful. I often feel like I don't know if I should try to be there, to ask, etc., and I'm seeing that it is at least possible that a person dealing with depression may need me to at leas try. Probably not every time, this isn't a formula. Tricky, but there it is.)

"One of the realities about depression and anxiety disorders is that there are good days and bad days. The nature of the beast is that its course is unpredictable."

From the personal stories:

"Most of the time I feel like I am not honest with my friends; therefore I am not really a true friend at all. I feel like a mere stranger with them, and that only compounds the problem."

"The fact is many of my anxiety attacks happen when I'm trying to be overly responsible, trying too hard to be perfect, to satisfy the desires of others in place of my own, to achieve everything on an unwavering schedule. So being responsible often makes the anxiety worse."

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well written

I suffer from SAD and fibromyalgia so I uploaded this book.Definitely has got some great tips on helping yourself in the Depth's of depression.

[Tristan E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have found other disorders I never knew I had