Initially authored: Dec. 12, 2010
Up to date: April 2, 2025
When I’m depressed, I can’t bear in mind what it’s like to not be depressed.
Though I, logically, can state that I’ve spent huge chunks of my life out of main despair, once I’m depressed, I really feel that’s not true. I can’t bear in mind not having depressed feelings. I actually can’t bear in mind what non-depressed appears like. That is referred to as state-dependent reminiscence. Logic ceases to be convincing. I perceive there’s a excessive statistical chance that despair will cross. However I simply can’t consider it, can’t bear in mind it, when depressed. I’m not alone; folks with despair continuously endure from mood-congruent reminiscence.
(Right here’s the TL;DR for this one.)
How Despair Impacts Emotional Reminiscence
I can’t bear in mind not being depressed as a result of (for the sake of simplicity) there are two sorts of reminiscence, bodily and emotional. Bodily reminiscence is fairly easy. Do you, or do you not, bear in mind an occasion? I bear in mind my highschool commencement, for instance. I bear in mind the salad I simply ate. I bear in mind the reason for the bruises on my thigh. I bear in mind this stuff, however I don’t have any actual emotion hooked up to them.
One of these reminiscence is easy. Quantitative.
What Is Emotional Reminiscence and How Is It Impacted by Despair?
Emotional reminiscence is a bit totally different. Not solely do you bear in mind the occasion, however you additionally bear in mind what it felt wish to dwell the occasion. Hopefully, this can be a assortment of optimistic feelings. The way it felt while you held your little one for the primary time, what strolling throughout the stage to get your diploma was like, or how your first skydive made you’re feeling are all examples of emotional reminiscence. Once you bear in mind this stuff, you may truly really feel the feelings of these moments.
Emotion, Despair, and Reminiscence
The factor about despair is that despair dampens your emotional reminiscence for all the things besides despair. Despair performs methods together with your mind. Depressed emotion makes it so that you can’t bear in mind feeling not depressed. Despair tries to make you consider that this unhappy, depressed emotional state is your life, all the time was your life, and it’ll all the time be your life. It is a lie. The extra you consider this lie, the extra it’s going to turn into true.
Emotion and reminiscence are sophisticated by way of neurobiology but it surely’s sufficient to grasp that when recollections are written, feelings are tied carefully to them. It’s form of like placing your umbrella proper by your raincoat. One all the time reminds you of the opposite. Identical to while you’re blissful and also you see a celebration hat, you’re prone to bear in mind a time while you have been blissful.
And that works simply nice. Once you want your umbrella, you’re reminded to take your raincoat and vice versa. You’re a really cozy and dry particular person.
However then in the future, it’s raining exterior and your umbrella is gone. You see a solar bonnet and no umbrella. And so that you neglect to put on your raincoat. Actually, not solely do you neglect your raincoat, however you may’t even bear in mind the place you place it; you may not even bear in mind to look.
That’s despair. Despair steals your umbrella and you find yourself soaking wet, on a regular basis.
It’s truly neurobiological. In the event you’re actually unhappy and depressed, and also you see a celebration hat, you’re extra prone to bear in mind the birthday while you couldn’t cease crying as a result of the clown scared you — a tragic reminiscence.
And since despair is a persistent state of unhappiness, the recollections written if you end up depressed are hooked up to unhappiness. Furthermore, the recollections you may recall throughout despair are more likely to be unhappy ones as effectively.
Why Some Blissful Reminiscences Resist Despair
I’ve been listening to The Barenaked Women since I used to be 12 years previous. I’ve had many nice instances singing together with them (sure, I’m that lady). They’re chipper and blissful, they usually have introduced me pleasure virtually without end.
I noticed the film Level Break once I was round 14 years previous, and for those who occur to be in my age bracket, you’ll know — it was a particular it film. Keanu and Patrick have been sizzling, the chick was sizzling, and just about all the things they did was terribly naughty and horny. Plus, I’ve a factor for financial institution robbers. And there’s a skydiving scene (nonetheless massively inaccurate). It was a shared “cool factor” amongst my friends. I felt enjoyment and happiness once I watched it, time and again.
Can Optimistic Stimuli Break By way of Despair?
They have been genuinely good recollections untainted by psychological well being points (except you think about being obsessive about Keanu a sign of latent psychological well being points, which you may). These recollections are earlier than I grew to become bipolar, depressed, loopy, and the like.
And the odd factor is, if I hear the Barenaked Women or Level Break is on TV, I would truly smile just a little by means of my despair. Someway, recollections of these are so tied to enjoyment that seeing them, at instances, can break by means of despair. Different stimuli are pretty simply twisted into miserable recollections and ideas, however these younger recollections appear to face sturdy in opposition to such therapy.
I believe it’s because these recollections have been imprinted earlier than the bipolar, despair, and loopy. It’s rather more tough for me to return by purely blissful, untainted recollections post-crazy.
🧠 TL;DR — This Expertise Is Backed by Science
These intuitive insights are extremely in step with analysis in cognitive psychology and neuroscience:
- Despair impacts reminiscence recall and encoding, particularly favoring detrimental emotional materials.
- Individuals can’t simply entry optimistic emotional recollections after they’re in a low temper on account of mood-congruent recall.
- Sturdy, optimistic emotional recollections from earlier than sickness onset could also be extra immune to depressive interference.
Query:
Why can’t I bear in mind being blissful once I’m depressed?
Reply:
Despair impacts reminiscence by making it more durable to recall optimistic feelings — a phenomenon generally known as state-dependent reminiscence and mood-congruent recall. This implies while you’re depressed, your mind principally retrieves unhappy or detrimental recollections.
A Query for You
Does anybody else have distinct stimuli that aren’t miserable despite the truth that all the things else on this planet appears to be? Is it associated to experiences pre-illness? Do you end up the sufferer of state-dependent reminiscence?
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