Written by Chris Debono
One of the most unfortunate and perhaps frequent misunderstandings in our community happens when people mistake depression for sadness. Having said this, what is depression and why does someone FEEL it?
The Tripartite Model of Anxiety and Depression by Watson and Clark (1991)
The most prominent differentiators between feeling sad and depressed are the duration and intensity of negative affect. Moreover, the most determining feature of negative affect on a person is whether or not they think of its negative affect. This means that a person is more likely to feel demotivated and disheartened if they perceive subjective distress. For example, two different people can be exposed to the same situation but automatically respond differently. This could take the form of intense fear in anxiety or apathy in depression.
The opposite of such an invasive effect is a positive effect. I personally think that the impact of a positive effect can be explained best by the theory of social constructivism. This focuses on how each human being comes to know the world the way they do. In other words, it tries to explain subjective perspectives and how each one of us builds our internal understanding of the environment. Furthermore, it would also explain why some people feel depressed at certain points in their life and not others. It is important to understand that a person’s emotional state also depends on social influence, not just biological influence.
On the other hand, biological influence refers to how our body reacts in response to perceived dangerous environmental situations. This is also known as hyperarousal and it is mainly associated with anxiety disorders because of the activation of the sympathetic nervous system which leads to the symptoms like increased heart rate and trembling.
Aaron Beck and his contribution to the understanding of depression
Aaron Beck was a crucial pioner in this sector. Beck mentions three possible contributing factors to depression:
- Negative self-schemas
- Cognitive triad
- Errors in logic
This theorist does an exceptional job of targeting the negative emotions experienced during a depressive episode. Forming a negative self-schema entails having a distorted perception of oneself. This refers to unrealistic and extreme expectations that people have of themselves and the negative emotional repercussions that result due to this. It is important to note that people who experience negative self-schemas do not NECESSARILY experience depression, however, there is a greater risk.
In fact, individuals who are prone to depressive episodes tend to have an overall negative outlook on the world around them. This includes:
- The self (Unrealistic personal expectations)
- The future (Unpleasant outcomes)
- The world (People around me don’t like me)
Furthermore, it is no secret that the thinking pattern of an individual can be a major determiner of depressive symptoms. Due to this, therapists often focus on reevaluating the thought process which is often a response to environmental stimuli. These thoughts tend to focus on guilt, unrealistic, and negative outcomes of future events, focusing on the worst factors of an experience and making up negative conclusions without reasonable evidence.
Why therapy?
What was mentioned above often happens unconsciously. Either that or the person suffering from depressive symptoms does not know how to tackle the problem despite being well aware of it. This is why it is extremely important for our community to normalise therapy and medication when necessary. It takes a great deal of courage to decide to talk to a professional about emotional disorders and we need to focus on making it easier as a supportive social community. Keep making progress.
“It may be bad today, but it’s still better than yesterday’s good.” – A
