Reexamining Depressive Realism in Christian Concepts of Suffering
Samantha Yates, Graduate Student, Duke Divinity School
The practice of psychiatry employs medication and psychotherapy to alleviate pathologies defined as “mental illnesses” by DSM-5 criteria. Within the evolution of psychiatry, however, a key element remains under-appreciated within modern practice: the lens through which the patient views reality. Psychiatry is seen primarily as an avenue through which providers optimize a patient’s brain processes with the goal of obtaining proper mental functioning. However, psychiatrists do not have substantial tools for addressing significant environmental contributors to psychiatric disturbance—namely, socioeconomic, political, familial, and relational sufferings. In many cases, these environmental factors serve as perpetuators of depression, supporting a common phenomenon known as “depressive realism”. Depressive realism is the research finding that individuals with depression have a more accurate gauge on the truth of their reality than do individuals without depression (Moore and Fresco 2012). I argue that the concept of depressive realism presents significant problems for the practice of modern psychiatry and fundamentally changes our modern conception of mental illness.
For example, in light of depressive realism, is it appropriate to label depression as a deviation from the norm? If depression is perceived as a natural response to an individual’s environmental reality, should psychiatrists alter a patient’s brain chemistry to cultivate an artificially optimistic day-to-day feeling? Are there any ways for psychiatrists to relieve this type of suffering while respecting the appropriateness of depressive emotion in response to difficult circumstances? These questions have been widely unexplored within the medical literature today.
In this paper, I will argue how Christian tradition related to suffering and community can shift a patient’s frame of reality, providing psychiatrists with additional tools for addressing this form of depression. Not only does Christianity offer practices of self-giving love and community during times of joy and desperation, but it also presents a worldview in which individuals suffer alongside a loving Savior. By allowing believers to face the brokenness and corruption of this world within the context of love and fellowship, Christianity provides us with a perspective on suffering that is neither optimistic nor pessimistic. Rather, Christianity presents a depiction of reality that enables us to acknowledge the full weight of our sufferings, while also acquiring hope and meaning in the midst of our sufferings.
In my research, I will examine traditional Christian approaches towards suffering and mental health to determine how these approaches can inform the practice of modern psychiatry. In my examination, I will be holding two verses of the Bible in tension: Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus promises his followers soulful rest and a light burden if they choose to follow him, along with Luke 14:27, where Jesus proclaims that every child must “bear his cross” to follow him. My goal is to reveal how Christian tradition provides individuals with a rich perspective of human suffering, presenting tools for faithfully understanding and responding to circumstantially-appropriate “mental illness” perpetuated by depressive realism.
Michael T. Moore, David M. Fresco. "Depressive realism: A meta-analytic review." Clinical Psychology Review, August 2012: 296-509.
For example, in light of depressive realism, is it appropriate to label depression as a deviation from the norm? If depression is perceived as a natural response to an individual’s environmental reality, should psychiatrists alter a patient’s brain chemistry to cultivate an artificially optimistic day-to-day feeling? Are there any ways for psychiatrists to relieve this type of suffering while respecting the appropriateness of depressive emotion in response to difficult circumstances? These questions have been widely unexplored within the medical literature today.
In this paper, I will argue how Christian tradition related to suffering and community can shift a patient’s frame of reality, providing psychiatrists with additional tools for addressing this form of depression. Not only does Christianity offer practices of self-giving love and community during times of joy and desperation, but it also presents a worldview in which individuals suffer alongside a loving Savior. By allowing believers to face the brokenness and corruption of this world within the context of love and fellowship, Christianity provides us with a perspective on suffering that is neither optimistic nor pessimistic. Rather, Christianity presents a depiction of reality that enables us to acknowledge the full weight of our sufferings, while also acquiring hope and meaning in the midst of our sufferings.
In my research, I will examine traditional Christian approaches towards suffering and mental health to determine how these approaches can inform the practice of modern psychiatry. In my examination, I will be holding two verses of the Bible in tension: Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus promises his followers soulful rest and a light burden if they choose to follow him, along with Luke 14:27, where Jesus proclaims that every child must “bear his cross” to follow him. My goal is to reveal how Christian tradition provides individuals with a rich perspective of human suffering, presenting tools for faithfully understanding and responding to circumstantially-appropriate “mental illness” perpetuated by depressive realism.
Michael T. Moore, David M. Fresco. "Depressive realism: A meta-analytic review." Clinical Psychology Review, August 2012: 296-509.