Depression As A Way Of Perceiving The World

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Depression is inherently contrary to human nature.

In this state, basic needs are often violated and distorted, what is considered inherent in a person by nature: the instinct of self-preservation, the principle of striving for pleasure, attraction, maternal instinct.

It is very difficult to classify all possible types of depression, but conditionally depressive states can be divided into three groups:

· psychogenic - developing under the influence of external traumatic factors;

· somatogenic - arising against the background of the development of various somatic diseases;

· endogenous - formed against the background of a genetic predisposition.

The conditionality of these distinctions, according to a number of researchers, is that endogenous depressions are often provoked by exogenous factors, and external factors can have an additional effect at certain stages of the development of endogenous depressions.

And yet, within the framework of this article, we will not try to grasp the immensity and focusing on psychogenic depression, and in its relatively mild form, in which a person, experiencing difficulties in everyday activities and communication, still does not stop them. The mood is depressed, practically nothing pleases, there are a lot of reasons for self-flagellation, activity is noticeably reduced, but not completely paralyzed.

On the surface, we see the insensibility of a depressed person, joy is not available to him, but there is no sadness in his emotional palette. His sadness is blocked, and at a deeper level one can often see suppressed aggression … At the same time, a person may say: “I feel complete apathy” or “Everything is falling out of my hands, I can’t start anything,” or something else, indicating a breakdown, but he is unlikely to be aware of his sadness.

A depressed person is hardly capable of empathy with other people, for he is immersed in a dark abyss that violates his relationship with reality. If you dig out the emotions that are under the thick shell, then you can stretch a thread from them to the rigid attitudes, mental structures of a person.

Aaron Beck, founder of cognitive psychotherapy, based on empirical research and clinical observation, came to the conclusion that distorted perception of the reality of depressed people. He noted disturbances in thinking in depressed patients, namely the tendency to interpret any life events as confirmation of their worthlessness.

Also read: Depression. The main symptoms.

According to Beck's concept, the consciousness of a person suffering from depression is dominated by a negative perception of himself, a negative image of the world and, accordingly, his own future appears to him in a very gloomy light. "What good can happen to such an insignificant person like me in such a terrible and unjust world?", - such questions to someone may seem absolutely irrational, but in the coordinate system of a depressed person they are quite reasonable.

Depressive thinking has the following characteristics:

· overgeneralization ("The waiter was not friendly to me, I knew that I annoy people"), · categorical judgment ("One mistake is enough for complete failure"), · excessive demands on yourself ("Either to do it flawlessly, or not to take it at all"), · idealizing others and devaluing oneself ("All my friends are successful people, I have not achieved anything alone").

A depressed person, due to the peculiarities of the perception of reality, may experience permanent guilt in front of the people around him, consider himself a burden to loved ones without any confirmation from them. In this, the thinking of a depressed person resembles a child's thinking. A small child, for example, may conclude that it is he who is responsible for the divorce of his parents or the death of a relative, because he behaved badly. But in the case of a preschooler, egocentrism is normal.

In the mental scheme of a depressed person, the cognitive school of psychotherapy distinguishes negative underlying belief and complementary belief, which is aimed at adapting to an imaginary reality.

Basic beliefs tend to develop during childhood. Unfortunately, parents, directly or indirectly, can influence the formation of a negative self-image in a child. Without feeling unconditional acceptance, care and support from parents, a child may decide that he is bad, is not capable of anything and is unworthy of love.

In addition, parents can consciously or unconsciously cultivate feelings of guilt in the child. “We gave you the best years of our life. We denied ourselves everything, if only you had everything you needed. When you grow up and leave us to the mercy of fate,”such repeated statements can leave a deep imprint on the soul of especially sensitive and vulnerable children.

If a negative basic belief might sound like “I’m not capable of anything,” then the complementary one might be “If I please others, they may not notice my worthlessness.” Obviously, a person with such an attitude is not able to get pleasure either from what he does or from life in general. He will delight others, but he will not rejoice himself.

Lack of satisfaction from their own success is characteristic of chronic perfectionism … It would seem, what is wrong with making high demands on yourself and the need for achievement? In theory, this should motivate, but often people experience the negative effect of striving for perfection. If a person is constantly dissatisfied with himself, expects first-class results from himself in any conditions, fixates on his own shortcomings and acts under the influence of fear of failure, then it is difficult to call such perfectionism healthy. Fanatical adherence to standards accepted in society, elevation of success to the rank of the highest value, orientation exclusively to external evaluation, which can be considered as the main motivation, propel a person deeper and deeper into depression. The link between depressive disorder and perfectionism has been identified by many Western and Russian researchers.

After all of the above, a logical question arises: "Is there any sense in depressive experiences?" Existential psychotherapist Alfried Langele answers it like this: "The meaning of depression is to prevent a person from continuing to live the way they have lived until now."

See also: Depression: a condition, illness or whim?