Depressive Thoughts – Why They Are So Enduring

Depressive Thoughts - Why They Are So Enduring

One of the worst things about depression is the intrusive, depressive thoughts that stay around like they have nowhere else to be. The are persuasive and powerful and they pollute the filter through which the rest of the world is experienced. 

A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders has shown that the tendency of depressive thoughts to play over and over, leaves little room for any positive thoughts or memories. This affects memory and makes way for depressive thoughts to expand and tighten their grip. The findings are important for shining further light on the relationship between depression and memory, as well as the progression of depression over time.

 ‘We have known that negative thoughts tend to last longer for those with depression. However, this study is unique in showing that, these thoughts, triggered from stimuli in the environment, can persist to the point that they hinder a depressed person’s ability to keep their train of thought.’ Bart Rypma, PhD, Center for BrainHealth principal investigator.

The Research. What they did.

The study involved 75 participants. 30 of those participants had depressive symptoms and 45 of them did not. Each participant was asked to respond to a sentence that was built around a depressive thought or neutral information. The depressive sentences included, ‘I am sad’, or ‘People don’t like me’. Once participants had responded to the sentence, they were asked to remember a series of numbers.

What they found. 

The negative sentences influenced the amount that people with depression could remember. When people with depression were given the negative thought first, they remembered one-third less number strings than people without depressive symptoms. Their performance in the memory task improved when they were exposed to the numbers before the depressive message.  

Why depressive thoughts are so enduring.

This finding helps to make sense of a few things. We know that depression swipes at a person’s ability to concentrate or remember things in their day to day lives and this research offers an explanation as to why.

There is a limit to what we can hold in memory at any given point in time. When this space is occupied by persistent, intrusive depressive thoughts, there is little room for very much else. When there is no space for positive thoughts, the depressive thoughts that have already taken up precious mental real estate are able to flourish. As a result, memory, concentration, or the capacity to think more positive thoughts is compromised.

 ‘The fact that depressive thoughts do not seem to go away once they enter memory certainly explains why depressed individuals have difficulty concentrating or remembering things in their daily lives. This preoccupation of memory by depressive thoughts might also explain why more positive thoughts are often absent in depression; there simply is not enough space for them.’ – Lead author, Nick Hubbard, doctoral  candidate at the Center for BrainHealth.

With a vast amount of mental resources being recruited by depressive thoughts, there is a diminished capacity to make way for positive thoughts. Heads are fertile ground for thinking and when the balance of negative thoughts and positive thoughts is out, the negative ones will take over. The positive thoughts will become less, the depressive thoughts will take over.

The finding that depressive thoughts linger in memory and interrupt future thoughts and memories might be a vital clue to understanding how depression maintains over the course of a person’s life. When there is limited room available, and limited opportunity for nourishing thoughts to occupy the space that’s there, pulling out of a depressive cycle will be difficult.

Depression is not all about negative thoughts. Negative thinking is a symptom of depression, and it may help to maintain the symptoms, but we are far from understanding their role in contributing to the initial symptoms. Although there we are moving closer to an understanding of depression, we still don’t understand what makes a mind vulnerable to these depressive thoughts in the first place. What we do know is that once they find their way in, they will thrive.

Depression is a debilitating illness and there is no easy fix. The more we can understand about it, the more targeted the push against it can be. Relief from the symptoms will come in different ways for different people. 

The authors highlight the benefits of mindfulness in empowering people with depression to recognise and influence the content of their depressive thoughts. Mindfulness has been shown to be as effective as anti-depressants for many people in the prevention of relapse, and this research starts to explain why. 

Negative thoughts often begin automatically and persist automatically. They don’t need very much fuel at all to flourish. Mindfulness shines the light on them and brings them into the open. This will start to weaken their stronghold, either by diluting their concentration with positive thoughts, or by decreasing their direct impact. 

13 Comments

Sudhama

Karen, I get that negative thoughts take over the space that positive thoughts can occupy … they ‘pre-occupy’ I suppose and maybe that’s what the term ‘preoccupation’ actually means. But the article/research didn’t really explain WHY this happens … is it because negative thoughts are more emotionally weighted and therefore take up more resources?
I am also a ‘depression explorer’ (I refuse to use the term ‘sufferer’) since late teens. And there are parts to it i love – the sensitivity, the empathy, the funky ability to think outside the box and the continual wondering of what is Life all about has lead to some amazing realizations. But it can also be very dangerous and debilitating
Perhaps I’m lucky now that I have not only a belief, but a ‘knowing’ of a Higher power/Source/Sacred Creator, so now not only do I ‘push my negative thoughts away’, but I actually offer them up as an energy form to the Universe to be transmuted (and after all, they ARE only energy). The feeling that these thoughts can be given away as gifts is very empowering

Reply
Hey Sigmund

Sudhama we’re not sure why this happens, we just know that it happens. Depressive thoughts are clearly a symptom of depression, but whether they contribute to the cause or whether they are a result is still unclear. They certainly have a role in maintaining depression, but there is a lot of research at the moment that depression is a systemic disorder and involves the entire body, not just the mind. There is also a lot of research that is suggesting that it may be related to some sort of inflammation. Here is an article that explains the research https://www.heysigmund.com/new-research-will-change-way-think-depression/. What causes the inflammation is also unclear. Is it a virus? Stress? Something toxic in the environment? Something related to the immune system? The gut? Something else altogether? There are still a lot of unanswered questions in relation to depression, but there is also a lot of research happening in the area that is working on answering those questions. It is great that you have found a way to deal with your symptoms. Thank you for sharing your story.

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Stan G

Thank you for this article which shines a light on why I struggle so much with my memory at the moment and why my concentration is so poor. Persistent depressive thoughts leave so little room for positive thinking that they take up most of my energy too. It’s such a huge effort to do anything new or even to push myself to do daily tasks. I could be in the middle of a conversation and the slightest distraction can make me lose my track entirely and trying to remember even simple words can often make me believe I have Alzheimer’s.

Reply
LLP

I’m right where Stan is – I’ve had depression since I was a teenager. I work on trying to be positive and I’m pretty mindful of my thoughts, but lately I haven’t been very happy and I can feel the negative thoughts pushing the positive thoughts away. My memory right now is non-existent. My dad has Alzheimer’s and I feel like I do too. I’m going to read the article you sent to Stan. Thanks.

Reply
Hilary

This is correct in every way. I’ve had horrendous bouts of depression forever but I started following Inner Space for their talks, their meditations etc. Brilliant. The positivity of thought squeezes out the negs. I listen to my thoughts and shove neg ones away. The dominance of negativity has bothered me for a long time. Why do they persist so and all that has been said. Sometimes it’s difficult to resist a horrible neg or worse., a whole pile of them pushing in at once, especially if tired, hungry, pressured and then eek, I’ve jumped on the emotions connected to the negs. Ok now I’m teaching myself to say ‘don’t panic but get off this train. Breathe. Calm down. Talk in a meditation’. I do it my way. Thank you InnerSpace & heysigmund for all the help. This is a previously suicidal person who has turned it around!

Reply
Hey Sigmund

Hillary I love hearing that you have turned things around the way you have. Thank you for sharing your story. It will give hope to many people.

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The more we treat anxiety as a problem, or as something to be avoided, the more we inadvertently turn them away from the safe, growthful, brave things that drive it. 

On the other hand, when we make space for anxiety, let it in, welcome it, be with it, the more we make way for them to recognise that anxiety isn’t something they need to avoid. They can feel anxious and do brave. 

As long as they are safe, let them know this. Let them see you believing them that this feels big, and believing in them, that they can handle the big. 

‘Yes this feels scary. Of course it does - you’re doing something important/ new/ hard. I know you can do this. How can I help you feel brave?’♥️
I’ve loved working with @sccrcentre over the last 10 years. They do profoundly important work with families - keeping connections, reducing clinflict, building relationships - and they do it so incredibly well. @sccrcentre thank you for everything you do, and for letting me be a part of it. I love what you do and what you stand for. Your work over the last decade has been life-changing for so many. I know the next decade will be even more so.♥️

In their words …
Posted @withregram • @sccrcentre Over the next fortnight, as we prepare to mark our 10th anniversary (28 March), we want to re-share the great partners we’ve worked with over the past decade. We start today with Karen Young of Hey Sigmund.

Back in 2021, when we were still struggling with covid and lockdowns, Karen spoke as part of our online conference on ‘Strengthening the relationship between you & your teen’. It was a great talk and I’m delighted that you can still listen to it via the link in the bio.

Karen also blogged about our work for the Hey Sigmund website in 2018. ‘How to Strengthen Your Relationship With Your Children and Teens by Understanding Their Unique Brain Chemistry (by SCCR)’, which is still available to read - see link in bio.

#conflictresolution #conflict #families #family #mediation #earlyintervention #decade #anniversary #digital #scotland #scottish #cyrenians #psychology #relationships #children #teens #brain #brainchemistry #neuroscience
I often go into schools to talk to kids and teens about anxiety and big feelings. 

I always ask, ‘Who’s tried breathing through big feels and thinks it’s a load of rubbish?’ Most of them put their hand up. I put my hand up too, ‘Me too,’ I tell them, ‘I used to think the same as you. But now I know why it didn’t work, and what I needed to do to give me this powerful tool (and it’s so powerful!) that can calm anxiety, anger - all big feelings.’

The thing is though, all powertools need a little instruction and practice to use them well. Breathing is no different. Even though we’ve been breathing since we were born, we haven’t been strong breathing through big feelings. 

When the ‘feeling brain’ is upset, it drives short shallow breathing. This is instinctive. In the same ways we have to teach our bodies how to walk, ride a bike, talk, we also have to teach our brains how to breathe during big feelings. We do this by practising slow, strong breathing when we’re calm. 

We also have to make the ‘why’ clear. I talk about the ‘why’ for strong breathing in Hey Warrior, Dear You Love From Your Brain, and Ups and Downs. Our kids are hungry for the science, and they deserve the information that will make this all make sense. Breathing is like a lullaby for the amygdala - but only when it’s practised lots during calm.♥️
When it’s time to do brave, we can’t always be beside them, and we don’t need to be. What we can do is see them and help them feel us holding on, even in absence, while we also believe in their brave.♥️
Honestly isn’t this the way it is for all of us though?♥️

#childanxiety #parenting #separationanxiety

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