Submitted by Iaskquesti0ns t3_z85dlr in philosophy
Reply to comment by dimitrieze in Psychological richness is 1 of 3 primary components of a good life, along with eudaimonia (meaning) and hedonia (pleasure). A psychologically rich life has varied experiences and perspective-changing moments that make life interesting. by Iaskquesti0ns
Depression often involves your brain/mind telling itself false stories about bad things happening to you. Often focusing on it being because you're a shitty person and it's your fault and you don't deserve good things, etc. That point of view is inherently toxic to a healthy mind, and it can be more powerful if someone truly believes that everything happening to them is out of their control. Because then, how could they ever change it?
Once people get a wider, wiser perspective on those events they can see that the stories playing in their head are generally false, which clears up a lot of their depressive thoughts.
No, sorry, they’re not false stories. As a recently depressed person I had real stories of personal mistakes and shit happening to me that was a lot at once. I could list them to anyone and they would say, ok, I would be depressed too. All real events.
Then I got a health scare diagnosis that literally said my days on earth were very possibly numbered and short. Overnight my depression went away. From knowing I was dying? On top of all else?
Yes. It shifted, instantly to me focusing on all that’s awesome in my everyday. I forgot all about the little annoyances and past/future concerns. Everything became deep and rich around me. I learned how to love deeply, those in my life because I wanted to milk each moment before I went into the black.
Perspective. The loss and shit of my past was real, but I no longer wasted time thinking about it. I live in the NOW, and ride every tiny beauty inside it. I thrive on what matters in the end now and ignore the rest as there is no time to waste. Depression is a waste of time. Anxiety is a laughable waste of my minutes. Being calm and happy is easy now.
If I escape this somehow, it will be the best thing that ever happened to me.
Depression isn’t about believing lies. It’s about self pity and a wasteful perspective.
When you truly life well, you milk the best around you. Most of the elderly get this, as they feel their mortality deeper.
I've dealt with serious and suicidal depression a couple of times in my life. States of depression absolutely are often brought on by pervasive self "false narratives". And one of the primary ways to treat depression is to gain the mental toolkit to analyze, reassess, and even rewrite those false narratives.
That's the whole underlying premise behind CBT. But don't take my word for it:
I don’t like the word false. They’re not false realities, just overly-focused-on ones.
The word "false" is entirely accurate.
From the link: >Examples of these include beliefs such as, “If I fail at something it means I’m a complete failure” or “If I don’t have someone to love and accept me it means I’m unlovable.”
These are patently false in a way that any Logic 101 student could unpack. Yet, these exact types of narratives are pervasive in clinical depression.
CBT is all about identifying and attacking those false negative narratives.
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