Depression has some benefits and may be necessary, positive and sometimes has advantages, according to a recent study.
“One of the benefits of depression is that it is an adaptive way to deal with certain problems in life, such as relationship breakdown and illness,” said Dr. Paul Andrews, who led the study, which was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
While clinical depression is a serious mental health problem, researchers argue that by studying how depression originates, we can better understand how to deal with it.
“Depression has always been seen as nothing more than a problem. We wonder if it’s really a natural adaptation that the brain uses to process certain problems,” says Andrews, according to spring.
“We’re seeing more evidence that depression can be a necessary and useful adaptation for dealing with large, complex issues that defy easy understanding,” he adds.
The study revealed that people with depression develop some surprising advantages in their thinking skills.
These advantages for people with depression are: they process information more deeply, are more accurate at carrying out complex tasks, make better judgments of detail-oriented information, and in the economic side they can perform more accurate cost-benefit analyses.
Depression benefit
The researchers developed a questionnaire that measures “analytical rumination,” a mental process believed to be an ancient defense mechanism and symptom of depression that occurs when people turn problems over in their heads to the exclusion of everything else, in an attempt to find a solution.
The analytical rumination hypothesis proposes that depression is an adaptation that evolved in response to complex problems and whose function is to reduce disturbance of rumination and sustain analysis of complex problems.
Depressed patients in this case examine the cause of the problem, then the things that need to be resolved, any possible solutions as well as the costs and benefits of each solution.
Symptoms of depression, which often include lethargy, difficulty sleeping, poor concentration and a lack of interest in others or the outside world, may be ways to save energy while the person is focused on the problem.
The positives of depression
Clinical depression may be the result of this natural process getting out of control, causing people to withdraw from the world after being caught in a vicious cycle.
“Based on how people answer our questions, we can tailor appropriate levels of care and support,” says Dr. Sky Barbeck, who co-led the study about how the questionnaire works. “This set of questions can also inform very different discussions between doctor and patient.”
“Rather than discussing illness as a ‘bad thing’, clinicians may be able to help patients gain insight into the potential adaptive purposes of their thinking and how this can be used as a force to move forward in their lives.”
Dr. Zachary Duresco, one of the study’s authors, said: “When working with many people with chronic health conditions, depression is often the limiting factor for recovery and goal achievement.”
“The test (questionnaire) can quickly tell us when people are struggling to define their problems, or trying to set goals, or trying to move forward with their lives,” he added.