Study about "Depressed People" That May Surprise You

The popular claim: is that depressed people believe false ideas about themselves and others. In other words, they are self-deceived and out of touch with reality. This kind of self-deceptive thinking is alleged to be a factor distinguishing depressed people from "normal" people.

HOWEVER scientific research leads ... to the opposite conclusion. That is, depressives seem to have a BETTER grasp of reality than the "normal psychiatrists" treating them.

The Study: Lauren Alloy (Temple University) and Lyn Abramson (University of Wisconsin) designed an experiment in which one of the investigators secretly manipulated the outcome of a series of games. Both depressed and non-depressed subjects took part in these fixed games.

The Results: (extremely summarized): Non-depressed subjects overestimated the degree to which they had personally influenced the outcome when the game was rigged so that they did well, and underestimated their own contribution to the outcome when they did poorly. Turning to the depressed subjects, Alloy and Abramson found that depressed individuals assessed both situations far more realistically. The rather starting conclusion is that depressives may suffer from a deficit in self-deception. (Similar results were obtained by the distinguished behavioral psychologist Peter Lewinson, who found that depressed people are often able to judge others' impressions of them more accurately than non-depressed subjects are. Other similar research has found that high levels of self-deception are strongly correlated with conventional notions of mental health, and that subjects with so-called mental disorders evidence lower levels of self-deception than "normal people".)

This kinda surprised me when I first heard it. It explains why seemingly upbeat Hollywood stars turn out to be so depressed in their later years. Perhaps the ruse of self-deception gets weaker as we grow older? As for us current downers, maybe our only problem is that we've reached this (more-realistic) state a lot sooner than the so-called normal people? lol

You could interpret it that way. But you could also interpret self-deception (or deception in general) as a vital aspect aspect of human growth. In psychological spheres, it's been shown to be an ingredient in the quest for individuation and integration of self. Case in point: Let's say I knew what you were thinking right now. My guess is that you would probably be in an even more depressed state because you'd be wondering if I was disgusted at your "inner-most" secrets (which we all have) lol.

Maybe there's a delicate balance of self-deception and reality that allows for adequate adjustment to living? And really, what is "truth" anyway. Is it what you believe in or what everyone else believes. It's hard to say at times.

Yeah, everybody seems to talk about these "irrational negative thoughts", but I have been thinking that often they are not irrational. What's so irrational about thinking people who haven't experienced the same problems I have can't understand and will judge you all the time? What's irrational about seeing hyperhidrosis as gross? Isn't that what everyone who doesn't have HH themselves think anyway? What's so irrational about considering someone who hasn't a life a failure? Isn't that what everyone who has a life thinks anyway? Sometimes I would like to tell stupid psychologists "fuk you and your positive thinking".
That's reality, and it's not my fault if reality is "negative". Maybe the only way to overcome depression is to accept that some negative thoughts are actually true and not irrational, but try not to let them affect our lives negatively anyway. This probably means not hiding even if you are ugly, or doing something anyway although you feel sure you'll fail. Like, trying to live normally even though you know you are not normal. I'll try, maybe. After all, I am approaching a point where I might have nothing else to lose.

I agree, in the end most sane, happy people use self-deception and delusions as a sort of defence mechanism to protect them from the harshness of reality. We all live in a sort of bubble in which we've convinced ourselves of our abilities and set our goals etc, acting as our incentive to reach them and keeping us happy. When this bubble gets broken and reality floods in, that's when we're in trouble... because from there on personal development comes to a halt and we may even slide backwards as we start believing all the negative (and possibly 'true') things that we discover about ourselves and the outside world.

But what would you rather experience. A slightly twisted and manipulated reality which allows you to learn and to grow, or a more accurate version of reality which works against you, robs you of all your energy and makes you feel powerless and overwhelmed by the world...

Blue pill for me, thanks!

Nicholas said:

Yeah, everybody seems to talk about these "irrational negative thoughts", but I have been thinking that often they are not irrational.

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If you consider happiness to be desirable and unhappiness to be undesirable, then these negative thoughts are irrational, because they work against you. I'm not saying they're untrue, but everything is bound to interpretation and people can't tell you you're wrong for interpreting things either positively or negatively. If someone smiles at you, you can either think nothing of it, consider it an awkward smile and feel awkward yourself (return the awkward smile, maintain a sour face...) or consider it a genuine warm-hearted smile (and return the favour). No one can tell you you're wrong for any of these interpretations, but the way you see it affects the way you handle the situation- and if you see it positively you'll act in a positive manner!

I remember a similar study in which depressed/paranoid individuals were shown to have better objective judgement than non depresseds, when they were asked to judge the length of a line.
Maybe all these happy people just don't fully comprehend how bad life is!!! I'm sure they have a much happier life though, of course!

depressed people seem to have higher levels of stress hormones which cause hightened alertness. This probably gives depressed people a better perception of life. Most depressed people ive met have shown great judgement of character and a very good understanding of other peoples problems.

Studies have shown that deppression is on the increase as society is advancing. There was 10 times less deppression before the second world war and as biology doesnt advance that fast the contibuting factor is the way that society is changing. e.g. the media and the focus on self and lifestyle that the media portrays.
Society is changing and not in a good way. depressed people can understand this a lot better than non-depressed people.

I think maybe humans are slowly evolving into a more deppressed mindset. because nature is not happy with the way humanity is currently operating. Its helping us gain a better perception of our world so that we can recognise the need for change.

You can always count on the mean guy at work to make sure the boss isn't overstepping his bounds.

I felt like this for what it seems forever,that I was the only one that could see things for what they really are.

Anubis said:

depressives seem to have a BETTER grasp of reality than the "normal psychiatrists" treating them.

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Surprise surprise!

Anubis said:

The rather starting conclusion is that depressives may suffer from a deficit in self-deception.

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Sounds about right, haha!

Anubis said:

depressed people are often able to judge others' impressions of them more accurately than non-depressed subjects are.

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Some **** speaks the truth for once.

Cheers for sharing that with us Anubis.

So that means someone with depression is not lying to themselves when they feel the way they feel... mmm, alright. Sounds fair enough. And I agree with the notion that society is changing, IT IS! The pshyche of the mindset cannot stay the same, it evolves as time goes by. There's alot of problems in the world, so I can't judge much when someone has depression. I'm glad to have read that.

Insightful commentary by all of you. It got me thinking long and hard. And I think I finally realize what it takes to rid oneself of social phobia. I've summarized it into one essential step.

Warning!!! It's involves lying to yourself. So if you don't want to deceive yourself, then stop reading now. You will probably stay moderately social phobic for the rest of your life, but at least you'll be honest with yourself. However, for those who continue, "normalcy" is all but guaranteed.

Simple 1 Step to Cure Social Phobia: Never contemplate doubt in anything you do.

Biggest lie ever. Because there is doubt in anything one performs. Think you can ace that test? I have 20 reasons why you probably won't. Think you're going to be confident and interesting while giving that big speech next Monday? I'll tell you why it probably won't happen. Think that social mistake you made wasn't a big deal? I'll show you, in extreme detail, why it probably was.

The "normal" person, however, doesn't consider these "doubts". He ignores them. He picks an action and he believes he can do it without a shadow of a doubt.

Tiger Woods explains it best (@1:22)

YouTube - Tiger Woods interviewed by Ed Bradley - part 1
The interviewer asks him "Do you expect to dominate ... to win (every game)?". Tiger Woods emphatically says, "Expect to win?? ALWAYS."

Now sure, Tiger Woods has natural talent, but natural talent doesn't necessarily ensure success (ask Dan Marino with his 0 Superbowl Rings). Tiger Woods takes his performance one step higher by guaranteeing victory to himself in every game he plays in. However, there's absolutely NO CERTAINTY that he will win (in fact, 70% of the time, he doesn't)! If that's not self-deception, then I don't know what is.

So to summarize, to be normal and successful, you must be adept at telling "lies" to yourself. If you do, you'll most likely find an elevated sense of happiness.

I really like the Idea of this study. I always thought that "normal" people were nieve for the way they think. I see the truth in in what people say and do so they call me "depressed."

Well so much for me just being a "negative person." I'm not negative, I'm realistic. People who aren't depressed are living in a fantasy child play world!

NormanBates said:

You can always count on the mean guy at work to make sure the boss isn't overstepping his bounds.

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LMFAO winner