Initially authored: Dec. 12, 2010
Up to date: April 2, 2025
When I’m depressed, I can’t keep in mind what it’s like to not be depressed.
Though I, logically, can state that I’ve spent large chunks of my life out of main despair, after I’m depressed, I really feel that’s not true. I can’t keep in mind not having depressed feelings. I actually can’t keep 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 probability that despair will cross. However I simply can’t consider it, can’t keep in mind it, when depressed. I’m not alone; individuals with despair regularly endure from mood-congruent reminiscence.
(Right here’s the TL;DR for this one.)
How Despair Impacts Emotional Reminiscence
I can’t keep 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, keep in mind an occasion? I keep in mind my highschool commencement, for instance. I keep in mind the salad I simply ate. I keep in mind the reason for the bruises on my thigh. I keep in mind these items, however I don’t have any actual emotion connected to them.
This kind of reminiscence is straightforward. Quantitative.
What Is Emotional Reminiscence and How Is It Impacted by Despair?
Emotional reminiscence is a bit completely different. Not solely do you keep in mind the occasion, however you additionally keep in mind what it felt wish to stay the occasion. Hopefully, it is a assortment of constructive feelings. The way it felt while you held your youngster 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. While you keep in mind these items, you possibly can 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 keep 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 would change into true.
Emotion and reminiscence are difficult by way of neurobiology however it’s sufficient to grasp that when reminiscences are written, feelings are tied carefully to them. It’s kind of like placing your umbrella proper by your raincoat. One all the time reminds you of the opposite. Similar to while you’re comfortable and also you see a celebration hat, you’re more likely to keep in mind a time while you had been comfortable.
And that works simply effective. While you want your umbrella, you’re reminded to take your raincoat and vice versa. You’re a really cozy and dry individual.
However then at some point, it’s raining exterior and your umbrella is gone. You see a solar bonnet and no umbrella. And so that you overlook to put on your raincoat. Actually, not solely do you overlook your raincoat, however you possibly can’t even keep in mind the place you place it; you won’t even keep 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. Should you’re actually unhappy and depressed, and also you see a celebration hat, you’re extra more likely to keep 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 reminiscences written when you find yourself depressed are connected to unhappiness. Furthermore, the reminiscences you possibly can recall throughout despair are more likely to be unhappy ones as effectively.
Why Some Completely happy Reminiscences Resist Despair
I’ve been listening to The Barenaked Girls since I used to be 12 years outdated. I’ve had many effective instances singing together with them (sure, I’m that lady). They’re chipper and comfortable, and so they have introduced me pleasure virtually perpetually.
I noticed the film Level Break after I was round 14 years outdated, and in the event you occur to be in my age bracket, you’ll know — it was a particular it film. Keanu and Patrick had been scorching, the chick was scorching, 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 after I watched it, time and again.
Can Optimistic Stimuli Break By means of Despair?
They had been genuinely good reminiscences untainted by psychological well being points (until you contemplate being obsessive about Keanu a sign of latent psychological well being points, which you would possibly). These reminiscences are earlier than I turned bipolar, depressed, loopy, and the like.
And the odd factor is, if I hear the Barenaked Girls or Level Break is on TV, I would truly smile slightly by way of my despair. In some way, reminiscences of these are so tied to enjoyment that seeing them, at instances, can break by way of despair. Different stimuli are pretty simply twisted into miserable reminiscences and ideas, however these younger reminiscences appear to face robust in opposition to such therapy.
I believe it’s because these reminiscences had been imprinted earlier than the bipolar, despair, and loopy. It’s rather more tough for me to return by purely comfortable, untainted reminiscences 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 destructive emotional materials.
- Folks can’t simply entry constructive emotional reminiscences once they’re in a low temper attributable to mood-congruent recall.
- Sturdy, constructive emotional reminiscences from earlier than sickness onset could also be extra immune to depressive interference.
Query:
Why can’t I keep in mind being comfortable after I’m depressed?
Reply:
Despair impacts reminiscence by making it tougher to recall constructive feelings — a phenomenon often called state-dependent reminiscence and mood-congruent recall. This implies while you’re depressed, your mind principally retrieves unhappy or destructive reminiscences.
A Query for You
Does anybody else have distinct stimuli that aren’t miserable regardless of 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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