bigrob

I'm reading the book "Shadow Syndromes" by John J. Ratey, MD and Catherine Johnson, PH.D. and found an interesting paragraph:

"Normal people exaggerate how competent and well liked they are. Depressed people do not. Normal people remember their past behavior with a rosy glow. Depressed people are more even handed in recalling successes and failures. Normal people describe themselves primarily positively. Depressed people describe both positive and negative qualities. Normal people tend to take credit for successful outcomes and deny responsibility for failure. Depressed people accept responsibility for both success and failure. Normal people exaggerate the control they have over what goes on around them. Depressed people are less vulnerable to the illusion of control. Normal people believe to an unrealistic degree that the future holds a bounty of good things and a few bad things.Depressed people are more realistic on their perceptions of the future. In fact, on virtually every point on which normal people show enhanced self regard, illusions of control, and unrealistic expectations of the future, depressed people fail to show the same biases. "Sadder but wiser" does indeed appear to apply to depression."

It goes on to state that applies to mild depression. Severe depression distort life to the negative, but the mildly depressed may be the most accurate observers of life.



I found it interesting....thoughts?

"Hell is other people."- Sartre

<------ depressed, anxious, schizoid with ADD.

overcome.

I think that this is fairly interesting. I also think it's pretty accurate. I know that my own perceptions on life, problems, events, people, etc, are much more 'realistic' (at least in my terms) after experiencing lows of depression, however mild. It gives you time to live in the frame of mind of somebody who's depressed, but still realistic and optimistic (most of the time, at least). From this, I could sense that you'd get a reality check. Depression is often associated with loneliness, amongst other things, and isolation from others at times. Most browsing here can relate, and understand that time to think isn't always a good thing, and that time isn't always a healer.

On the plus side, from this, we do gain a strong outlook on life. An outlook that gives us the ability to look on the bright and not so bright sides of life, and think more realistically towards life events. I thought everybody would be like this, but not everybody is. Hardships really do sculpt people.

Lionheart

At the moments im depressed i dont really care anymore what i say or do public i dont really know why but it seems like there not only bad thinks about beeing depressed

friendchen

really very interesting.. but normal people can have depression too right?? so can't mildly depressed people be called normal???

Friend Chen

Hellhound

This is why they say that "ignorance is bliss" I guess...

I couldn't agree more with that information. People who have problems seem to be much smarter and realistic than those who don't have the same problems. Maybe the troubled people aren't as abnormal as they think they are? I usually view ignorant people as the abnormal ones. Does that make any sense?

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." -Albert Einstein

bigrob

We're normal and they are the crazy ones?

"Hell is other people."- Sartre

<------ depressed, anxious, schizoid with ADD.

Hellhound

Exactly :3

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." -Albert Einstein

Aru_Sarutobi

LOL, double exactly!!!

friendchen

triple exactly

Friend Chen

BlackPuma

I can't really say whether it's true or not. It's interesting, that much is true. :3

All I know is that if it's wasn't for the mild, and extreme lows in the past, I wouldn't be as cheerful in the face of problems and difficulty as I am today.

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