View Single Post
Anonymous44076
Guest
Anonymous44076 has no updates. Edit
 
Posts: n/a
Default Mar 19, 2019 at 07:06 PM
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdgrad15 View Post
I’ve wondered if depressive realism is true or not. I am one of thos people that is right in the middle, not overly optimistic but not overly pessimistic. I like to think in realistically and see things for how they are rather than have constant wishful thinking. But I hear that those with mild depression actually see things for how they actually are more accurately. Is this true? I was just wondering.
Hello rdgrad. Interesting post! What exactly do you mean by 'depression realism?' I've never heard that phrase. Do you have any links or literature on it that I could read?

Depression by its nature is a distortion of thoughts...many researchers now believe it is an attention bias....a bias toward negative thoughts. People who are not depressed, or depressed people who start to feel better or have a good day, are not "unrealistic"...they are well! I am speaking as someone who has lived with depression since early childhood. So I have zero judgment for anyone living with depression but I don't think it's helpful to suggest that some level of depression or pessimism should be a goal.

The research on pessimists and optimists regarding relationships and health is very clear. Though I realize that you were talking about a middle ground. I suppose for me, a healthy middle ground involves hope.

What do you mean by "overly optimistic?" If we exclude mania or psychosis, what is wrong with optimism? To me, that would be like describing someone as "overly happy." Provided they aren't thinking they can fly off a building or something (psychosis) why would we suggest limiting a person's happiness? By its nature, happiness is episodic. So too is sadness. But depression is not the same as sadness.
  Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Thanks for this!
rdgrad15