Working Well

Our personalities greatly determine who we are and what we will make of the natural traits handed to us through DNA from our parents and other family members. A resilient individual who is abused in childhood may still grow up unscathed by depression, whereas a chronic worrier or dependent person may succumb to the smallest incidents that trigger a bout of feeling miserable and hopeless.

The more often these bouts occur, the more likely a person is to believe he or she is unlucky or deserving of pain. In some cases, if an individual believes that they should feel depressed, they may very well end up feeling this way.

Different people react to adversity in different ways and this has led to the study of how depressed peoples' thinking styles compare to those who are not depressed. Research shows that many people appear to have 'perfect lives' on the outside while being very depressed inside and often feel guilty for being depressed as well - 'I should be happy' is a common thought. Other people can have many  external disadvantages and yet never become depressed.

When dealing with depression, it is vital to understand that there are many ways of dealing with adversity, some of which will tend to cause depression, and others which will not.

References

The Black Dog Institute

Depression Learning Path