Admin
... Read More
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookie Policy.
Written By: Admin | Updated : September 20, 2012 9:06 AM IST
Ever wonder what the person you made fun of, or ignored feels like? A new study has found that prejudice and depression are fundamentally linked. A prejudice towards a certain group of people or a certain type of person can push them deeper into the cavern of depression. Usually a person who is depressed uses sentences such as "I really hate me. I hate the way I look. I hate the way I talk."
Scientists find that the sentence could be used under two different conditions, explains how prejudice is linked to depression. Cox and colleagues argue that the kinds of stereotypes about others that lead to prejudice and the kinds of schemes about the self, that lead to depression are fundamentally similar. Among many features that they have in common, stereotypes of prejudice and schemas of depression are typically well-rehearsed, automatic, and difficult to change.
Cox and colleagues propose that there are two sections of this cycle, one that holds the prejudice and the other is the victim of the prejudice. The expression of this prejudice results in the victims becoming depressed. This depression caused by prejudice, termed as "deprejudice", can occur at many levels. In the classic case, prejudice causes depression at the societal level, but this causal chain can also occur at the interpersonal level, or even at the intrapersonal level, within a single person.
This research mainly concentrates on the prejudice people have for themselves or that they internalise due to the expression by another person and is not addressed. Researchers say that depressions caused by neurochemical, genetic, or inflammatory processes. Understanding that many people with depression are not "just" depressed , they may have prejudice against themselves that causes their depression, has powerful theoretical implications for treatment.
Researchers believe that interventions developed and used , such as cognitive behaviour therapy and mindfulness training, may be especially useful in combating prejudice. And some interventions developed and used by prejudice researchers may be especially useful in treating depression. Scientists are hopeful that this new finding can help physicians and councillors develop a cross disciplinary approach towards depression.
