Depressive Realism

"Depressive Realism" is the interesting theory that people who are depressed actually have a more realistic view of themselves, the world in general and their place in it.  The idea proposes that people who are happier are less likely to look life straight in the face and see it for what it is.  They tend to view the world with rose-colored glasses.

This does not mean the nondepressed are delusional or not reality-based, only that they view reality through an optimistic filter or don't view it at all.  Depressed individuals tend to have more realistic beliefs about their importance or lack thereof.  They see themselves as very small cogs in a very big machine.  They may be more aware of how little of us is left behind and what little influence we have on the world as a whole.  How exactly does the thinking of depressed people differ from that of the nondepressed?

Locus of Control

People who are depressed also tend to have a lower "external locus of control".  They tend to be more aware that we are, in many ways, at the mercy of fate, mother nature, the powers that be, or whatever forces you attribute to the universe in general.  People who are not depressed tend to believe that they are more in charge of their lives and their destinities than people who are depressed.  An interesting research study in 1979 brought this to light.

Individual subjects were placed in front of a panel with a green light, a yellow light and a spring loaded button, and were instructed to make the green light flash as often as possible. In one segment, they would win money every time the green light went on. In another, they would lose money when it didn't. A screen in the room showed their score. Afterward, subjects were asked how much control they had. … Among the "normal," non-depressed subjects, it depended on whether they were losing or making money. When they were winning money, they thought they had considerable control. … When they were losing money, they thought they had virtually no control. In other words, these subjects took credit for good scores and dished off blame when scores were poor. … The depressed subjects saw things differently. Whether they were winning or losing money, they tended to believe they had no control. And they were correct: the "game" was a fiction.

I think the American culture has traditionally nurtured the belief that we can overcome all odds and win over any adversity through sheer willpower.  However, we are starting to see the fallacy of this when faced with terrorists, tsunamis and swine flu.  Perhaps this awareness accounts for some of the dramatic rise in people diagnosed as being "depressed". 

Assessment of Personal Traits and Abilities

People with depression also tend to have a much more realistic view of their traits and abilities.  The nondepressed tend to view themselves much more positively than they actually are.  A study was conducted in which women rated the attractiveness of their own bodies.  They were then photographed from the neck down and the photos presented to a group of raters.  The nondepressed women rated the appearance of their bodies much more positively than did the objective raters.  Depressed women were much more likely to accurate assess their level of attractiveness. 

Predicting Happiness

Depressed people are less prone to commit the error of thinking they know what will make them happy.  Nondepressed people believe that they know what will make them happy in the future, but studies have shown they are quite poor at predicting it. 

Intolerance for Falsities or Illusions

Depressed people are more likely to demand the truth, wherever it may lead them, rather than believe an illusion that makes them happy.  Abraham Lincoln's partner in law, W. H. Herndon once observed that Lincoln "crushed the unreal, the inexact, the hollow, and the sham." He added that Lincoln's "fault, if any," Herndon said, "was that he saw things less than they really were."

So what does this mean for those who are depressed?  Is pessimism pathology?  Or just a more accurate perception of reality?  Are the undepressed the ones who are actually mentally ill?  Western culture tends to romanticize grief and percieve it as depth.  Do we perceive depressed people to have more depth?  Is depression the antithesis to shallow, but happy?  

This also raises a serious question about therapy.  Are psychiatrists treating people with depression to make their thoughts more delusional?  Are therapists using CBT actually teaching depressives to be less reality-based?

What are you thoughts?

 

 

Comments

[anon]

What are MY thoughts? Okay. Since you asked...

"So what does this mean for those who are depressed? Is pessimism pathology?"

Maybe, but so is optimism.

"Are the undepressed the ones who are actually mentally ill?"

The *unrealistic* (usually the optimism infected) are the actual mentally ill. Some of them purposely try to spread their bull to those of us who are not ill. They need to pretend we are the sick ones because this delusion protects them from reality.

"This also raises a serious question about therapy. Are psychiatrists treating people with depression to make their thoughts more delusional?"

Yes.

Are therapists using CBT actually teaching depressives to be less reality-based?

Yes. Ironically, this is crazy-making behavior and not helpful.

"I think the American culture has traditionally nurtured the belief that we can overcome all odds and win over any adversity through sheer willpower."

Some things can be won this way and some things cannot. Reality based people have the best chance of knowing the difference, and keeping in mind that it can change over time and from situation to situation. Sometimes a somewhat optimistic outlook is called for and sometimes it is not. Those who can recognize when it is not are in a better position to formulate a new game plan when one is needed. The delusionals have poor skills in this area and poorer judgement in general when compared to those who inhabit reality.

[Kellen]

I think you make a good point that "some things can be won this way and some things cannot" and that "reality based people have the best chance of knowing the difference".

Great comments. Thank you!

[Matthew Leitch]

There’s something important that is missing from the ‘optimist-realism-pessimism’ spectrum, which is a second dimension representing the confidence with which we make our predictions for the future.

Once you take that into consideration a lot of things start to make more sense.

I wrote about this in an article called “Optimism, Pessimism, and Open-minded Realism” which is here http://www.managedluck.co.uk/objectivist/index.shtml

This reflects my long study of the psychology of uncertainty and explains exactly how we can aspire to being unbiased without getting depressed by it!

[Kellen]

Good point Matthew, however research has shown that realists, even open-minded ones, will score higher on the depression scales than optimists. This only takes into account their general moods. It would stand to reason that, being realists, they would be better prepared should they encounter obstacles in their endeavors. At the point where they encounter said obstacle they might score higher than the optimist who is caught totally off guard. That would be an interesting research topic.