Can Depression have Long Term Benefits?

"Life is a long lesson in humility" (James M. Barrie)

With increasing levels of mental illness, and growing evidence that anti-depressant drugs may be less effective than previously thought, the spotlight is on depression once again.

A bout of mild to moderate depression can lead to a greater appreciation of life that can have great benefits for the individual and the species, says Dr Paul Keedwell of the Institute of Psychiatry. Rather than disqualifying depression as a human defect, in ‘How Sadness Survived’, Dr Keedwell claims that Depression has survived in order to help the human race become stronger.

According to Keedwell’s theory, ‘mild to moderate’ depression can help us become more resilient, thereby acting as an agent of consciousness expansion that engages us with a broader perspective. Subsequently, an experience of depression can lead us to a greater awareness of ourselves and can actually restore our faith in life. Furthermore, in doing so, we are better equipped to manage other people’s feelings.

If depressive episodes can influence our ‘emotional intelligence’, as Dr Keedwell claims, then are these levels of intelligence directly proportionate to the extent of suffering endured, or even to the duration of suffering, or the frequency at which such crisis points occur? And what of loss or bereavement – those momentous and deeply affecting events that test our endurance and often force us to rethink our life strategy – wouldn’t these periods also count as instances of depression?

Such encumbering experiences are uncompromising, affecting each of us to varying degrees. Yet this (universal) experience of suffering and loneliness can imbue us with a greater appreciation of life and bestow the gift of compassion onto the most egocentric and unrelenting among us.

It is questionable whether Dr Keedwell’s recent reappraisal of depression is intended as a lesson in altruism, or whether his homogenous version of ‘mild to moderate depression’ represents a somewhat cynical account of the burgeoning malaise of humankind throughout the ages. However, the creative and transformative potential of depressive episodes (where they are experiential, or ephemeral) is real.

A depressive episode can initiate a logical and healthy reassessment of a negative friendship or relationship. People often stay involved with each other not because there is a positive attraction, but because of material circumstances or psychological needs that seem beyond their control. A despairing or emotionally turbulent experience or event can force us to face our deepening anxieties and help us make the right estimate of ourselves.

The imaginative and expansive qualities of deeply saddening events and depressive feeling are likely to broaden our perspective and give us the ability to respond to others with a deeper level of empathy and understanding. Such circumstances can provide a requiem for the ego, teaching us an important lesson in humility, and helping us to come to terms with our limitations and undiscovered truths.

Whilst it would be difficult to define what constitutes a ‘constructive’ level of depression, or to limit its causes, a surmountable lapse into depression assumes a pragmatic quality that can lead to a greater trust in one self. Enlightenment is possible in the wake of catastrophe, when introspection leads to discovery in the face of loss and despair.

By Amanda Carey/ MOLI