Shankar Vedantam
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Appearances Over Time
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That email address again is feedback at hiddenbrain.org.
John, you say that part of your effort to push back against the defect model of depression is to investigate what you call silver linings in depression and other psychological disorders.
In the course of your own depression, you learned some important things yourself.
One of them is that people were really there for you.
I'm wondering whether you felt greater empathy for others who've been through the same thing as a result of going through so much suffering yourself.
You told me when you were describing your depression that at times it felt like it was bigger than you, that it was stronger than you, that you were dealing with a force that in some ways was much more powerful than you were.
But at the same time, John, you are here today.
There have been a number of studies that have also found that people who are experiencing depression in some ways can have a more accurate view of reality than people who are not depressed.
That when we are in a low mood, in a bad mood, sometimes we might actually be able to see ourselves, to see the situation more clearly.
And in some ways this aligns with your thesis that if a low mood is designed to make us stop and think and ponder, perhaps we're able to stop and think and ponder better.
than when we are in a euphoric mood.
You've also indicated that in some ways your own depression was the origin story of your research career as a psychologist.
In some ways, it seems odd to say this, but depression helped you find your purpose in life.
I want to take a moment and underline something really important.
You've studied some of the silver linings that come with depression.
You've challenged the idea that depression is a brain disorder or merely about errors in cognition.
Some people might listen to this and say, okay, John Rottenberg thinks that the enterprise of treating depression with psychotherapy or medications is flawed.