one of the worst Parts about depression is that we can feel pretty guilty for just existing it feels like we are fundamentally bad in capable of doing anything at all and for some this feeling has actually persisted to varying degrees throughout their entire life from a young age you might get the message that who you are is simply unacceptable you need to be good you need to be something other than who you are Dorothy row a prominent psychologist and author is best known for her work in the field of psychology particularly her contributions to understanding
the nature of human emotions identity and how people end up so dang depressed her psychological theories span across Fields such as existentialism cognitive behavioral therapy and social constructionism and they all work together in order to explain the basic ingredients of human suffering perhaps one of rose's most famous ideas is this that only good people are depressed what does this mean to understand this we need to do a brief overview of rose's overall psychological theory of the self Rose's concept of the self which he argues is not in inherent fixed entity but rather a dynamic construct
shaped by individual experiences and social interactions is kind of considering the self as a process or state of becom coming well this means that individuals do have some freedom in determining who they are at the end of the day row does also emphasize the role of society in influencing how individuals perceive themselves and the world around them in simple terms people develop a sense of self and from this self-esteem in order to understand themselves and this development of selfhood occurs through our relationship with Society because we wish to be accepted we will internalize social norms
and values that are seen as valuable such as becoming a hard worker or being seen as successful in some way however we will inevitably feel like we have fallen short of these goals from this row argues we can end up feeling pretty inadequate ashamed and anxious this inconsistency between our supposed real self and this sort of social ideal self that Society promotes can actually result in the sort of psychological distress that leads to both low self-esteem and even depression as roow writes depression is a defense it is a way of holding ourselves together when we
feel ourselves falling apart we feel ourselves falling apart whenever we discover a serious discrepancy between what we thought our life was and what it actually is this is terrifying because a person's whole structure of meaning is then invalidated from this row emphasizes the importance of understanding those stories that we often tell ourselves about ourselves these could be called schemas or self-beliefs these narratives we develop early on to make sense of how others see us these stories are important because they do give us meaning in our lives but they can also become way too rigid and
sometimes people will refuse to revise and reinterpret them this leads into one of rose's key Concepts psychological prisons we are our structure of meaning so one way to protect ourselves from this Terror very quickly is to create a structure for it this structure says I am to blame for the bad things which have happened to me and this allows me to cut off from all outside help psychological prisons can be seen as limitations that are self-imposed they pop up in negative selft talk and thoughts that can result in lower self-esteem it is when we start
to take a story that we tell ourselves to be entirely true and unchangeable where we end up following rigid expectations that can then cause depression a perfectionist might for example tell themselves the story that they must be perfect in order to be loved if they fall short of this very high expectation and standard this can then lead to depression as their sense of meaning has become threatened psychological prisons are what we have developed in order to be good in some sense sense these stories served their purpose in helping us navigate the world at the time
when they were useful but as we grow older R proposes that freeing oneself from psychological prisons is a key aim in avoiding depression of course we can't take responsibility for our mental health completely Dorothy row also heavily emphasizes broader social and cultural constraints and influences that lead an individual towards depression she explores themes of power dynamics the negative consequences of rigid hierarchies and the sort of systemic inequality that can negatively impact the health and psychology of marginalized communities compared to other psychological theories Road does not see the individual as entirely operating in a vacuum rather
they are a product of their environment and have likely become depressed as a reaction and defense to external threats Dorothy row and her writing offers a very holistic insight into the emergence of ression in modernity and the role of self-esteem in mental health well many thinkers have also suggested the negative role of social influence on individual psychology Rose theory is a very clear and concise analysis that incorporates both philosophy and psychology in order to find a path forward for the depressed individual still row highlights the importance of acceptance before constant analysis as she reminds us
we can love someone without understanding that person this video is sponsored by brilliant do you ever find yourself overwhelmed by this exponentially evolving world as artificial intelligence advances the standards for everyday knowledge has never been higher to thrive in this new landscape we must stay ahead of our robotic counterparts and adapt to evolving demands are you looking for the right tools to in this new era of learning let me introduce you to something that has really helped me in my pursuit of knowledge brilliant brilliant isn't just another online learning platform it's a fun and essential
Journey that turns your curiosity into comprehension with brilliant you won't just memorize facts you'll actively build real knowledge on specific topics while also becoming a more versatile critical thinker I've been thoroughly enjoying brilliant's introduction to programming and AI which is perfect for Learners at any level you can Peak under the hood of large language models like chat GPT to grasp the concepts powering today's technology and understand how these models generate humanlike text recognize patterns and learn from vast data sets what I love most about brilliant is how it nurtures a habit of learning just a
few minutes a day on their platform can unravel the complexities of these Advanced programs if you're ready to become a problemsolving master and stay ahead of the curve you can try everything brilliant has to offer for free for 30 days by visiting brilliant.org cissus 55 or clicking the link in the description plus you'll receive 20% off an annual premium subscription embrace the future of learning with brilliant [Music]
