Mildly depressed people more perceptive than others - a discussion

[Visionary7903]

I found this GEM of a discussion on

[url="http://forum.avantlabs.com/index.php?showtopic=20214"]http://forum.avantlabs.com/index.php?showtopic=20214[/ur

l] about the research article pasted below. I think this could explain a few things about how some people interpret

people's reactions to pheromones on this forum.

I also think that the correct attitude to take when wearing

mones is as eclypz

writes:
"On the other hand, stay grounded in your own reality, hold yourself only your standards, be comfortable

saying whatever. Remain physically composed and relaxed. Speak with the slow soft confidence that you have when you

are the one running the show and just watch what happens with others around you. With a litte bit of "I don't give

a crap about social cues, I AM THE SOCIAL CUE" attitude you can surprise yourself with the results."






http://www.eurekalert.org/pu

b_releases/200...u-mdp112105.php

Mildly depressed people more perceptive than others

Findings

published in international journal Cognition and Emotion

(Kingston, ON) – Surprisingly, people with mild

depression are actually more tuned into the feelings of others than those who aren't depressed, a team of Queen's

psychologists has discovered.

"This was quite unexpected because we tend to think that the opposite is true,"

says lead researcher Kate Harkness. "For example, people with depression are more likely to have problems in a

number of social areas."

The researchers were so taken aback by the findings, they decided to replicate the

study with another group of participants. The second study produced the same results: People with mild symptoms of

depression pay more attention to details of their social environment than those who are not depressed.

Their

report on what is known as "mental state decoding" – or identifying other people's emotional states from social

cues such as eye expressions – is published today in the international journal, Cognition and Emotion.

Also on

the research team from the Queen's Psychology Department are Professors Mark Sabbagh and Jill Jacobson, and

students Neeta Chowdrey and Tina Chen. Drs. Roumen Milev and Michela David at Providence Continuing Care Centre,

Mental Health Services, collaborated on the study as well.

Previous related research by the Queen's

investigators has been conducted on people diagnosed with clinical depression. In this case, the clinically

depressed participants performed much worse on tests of mental state decoding than people who weren't depressed.



To explain the apparent discrepancy between those with mild and clinical depression, the researchers suggest that

becoming mildly depressed (dysphoric) can heighten concern about your surroundings. "People with mild levels of

depression may initially experience feelings of helplessness, and a desire to regain control of their social world,"

says Dr. Harkness. "They might be specially motivated to scan their environment in a very detailed way, to find

subtle social cues indicating what others are thinking and feeling."

The idea that mild depression differs from

clinical depression is a controversial one, the psychologist adds. Although it is often viewed as a continuum, she

believes that depression may also contain thresholds such as the one identified in this study. "Once you pass the

threshold, you're into something very different," she says.

[DrSmellThis]

Being mildly depressed, and

therefore tuned into your own and others' emotions (others' because theirs affect yours) more than you otherwise

would, is one way to know and understand a bigger range of feelings others might experience, but not the only way.

Still, the way it averages out might well indicate greater empathy than the typical person.

By the same logic,

it's also possible that the mildly depressed are more intelligent than typical people, since greater empathy and

emotional awareness lead to greater understanding over the course of life. (I'll expand on the logic here if asked)

I'm not aware of any studies on this, though.

[koolking1]

Some people may be more

aware of their surroundings because they are mildly depressed, sure - makes sense, but what about people who have

learned to be more aware of their surroundings routinely because they were forced/wanted to be that way, let's say

people who have been trained in combat, hunters?, prisoners, police officers, citizens of repressive and brutal

governments. Whether I'm mildly depressed (who isn't at times) or not, I can be totally aware of my surroundings,

no?

I think that people can be completely in tune with what others are saying, doing, picking up body

language signs, etc., without having to be mildy depressed.

If I'm perceived as being an Alpha type, just

flitting around at parties, not caring much what others think, and one day become mildly depressed, I don't think

it means necessarily that I'll become more aware of my surroundings.

[DrSmellThis]

...Agreed on all counts.

[ohmmmm]

I've been practicing some

spiritual yoga and I think that a person can become very tuned to other people without becoming mildly depressed.

Through meditation and getting in touch with your own feelings you can become more aware of yourself and what is

going on with other people around you.

[belgareth]

Marshal arts teaches you to be

aware of those around you and your surroundings at all times. It can be distracting because your eyes tend to dart

around more than most others and even when you are paying attention it can seem like you aren't.

[DrSmellThis]

I've been

practicing some spiritual yoga and I think that a person can become very tuned to other people without becoming

mildly depressed. Through meditation and getting in touch with your own feelings you can become more aware of

yourself and what is going on with other people around you.

One thing that is clear is that you don't have

to be depressed to enjoy the possible "fringe benefits" of mild depression.

However, I do think you have to have

felt a wide range of feelings very thoroughly, and be aware of your own feelings; in order to be able to empathize

fully with those feelings in others. It's a part of emotional growth and maturity; a quality too often in short

supply.