Question: Do you think that depression can be made by a state of mind or thinking and do you think that people can make themselves depressed?

Robert Dempsey answered on 15 Jun 2019:

Yes, there is an argument that depression can be caused by thinking (cognitive) styles or at least prolonged/lenghtened by thinking styles. I think it’s likely that its a combination of different factors (biological, psychological and social) but there’s definitely evidence that specific thinking styles can worsen feelings of depression and could initiate depressive feelings. For example, rumination (a repetitive way of thinking about how you feel and why you feel that way) is associated with depression and prolonging depression, especially if you ruminate (i.e. go over the same thoughts again and again and again without getting anywhere) after something negative has happened. On the flip side, if you try and actively cognitively problem solving after a negative event, rather than ruminate, that may help reduce depressive symptoms. So I think we can make ourselves more depressed based on how we think – there are some therapies which reduce ruminative thinking which seem to work. Good question!