Researchers say depression is not a life sentence

Once depressed, always depressed?

Two researchers say, while that might be the message of the mental health discipline, it isn’t really true.

Jonathan Rottenberg, Professor of Psychology, University of South Florida, and Todd Kashdan Professor of Psychology, George Mason University, reviewed outcome studies of people who were once depressed. They found that 40 to 60 percent never again had depression.

The researchers have proposed that professionals adopt a more precise definition of well-being so that they understand how and when people recover from depression.

This information can help professionals guide patients out of what might be a temporary depression.  It could also give patients hope, the researchers say.

The research will appear in the Perspectives on Psychological Science, according to The Conversation.