We’ve all fought countless battles, work, family, relationships? Every day is a new challenge in many ways, however, it is the battle we are fighting against ourselves that can generate depressive states that paralyze us, today we know that people with depression often amplify the resonance of symptoms.
A report published by Dr. Kopala-Sibley suggests that, in depressive states, it is advisable to focus less on symptoms and pay more attention to what a person feels about themselves, this could be one of the keys to the source of depression. And it’s better to treat the source than the symptoms.
- The report’s findings reinforce Higgins’ theory of self-discord.
- According to this theory.
- Ours? It has three different aspects: the real self.
- The ideal self and the responsible self.
This Kopala-Sibley research indicates that when there is a gap between the ideal self and the real self, we will most likely find people with depression.
We build our self-concept based on several variables Do we think ours?I? It’s a unique entity, but it’s not. We have a self that defines us, as we are in reality and in the present moment, the true self.
But are there other parallels, such as the “I” in what we can become; in this field of possibilities would be the ideal self. The responsible self is also part of the group, which indicates how we should build on the customs and social roles we adopt.
You can be sure to be a competent, intelligent and hardworking person, but if in real life these characteristics do not bear fruit because your work situation limits you, a conflict arises, in this case it is the incompatibility between the ideal self and the ideal self. I would real that would pave the way for depression.
In turn, self-esteem also depends on the perceived distance between our real self and our ideal self. Self-esteem is intimately linked to our psychological well-being and its deterioration makes us more vulnerable to depression.
Gray matter levels in people with low self-esteem are further reduced in areas of the brain that make it easier to intuition than others think of us.
Our real self and our ideal self are linked according to the history we build on ourselves and how we believe others perceive us. Self-esteem benefits from this minimum distance.
Therefore, it is likely that, if signs of depression appear, we will face a significant gap between the real self and the ideal self.
The internal patterns we maintain during times of depression lead us to believe that our ideal self is far from our true self. To bring these two realities closer together, we can change our internal models and dialogues.
Focusing on what we could change to get closer to our ideal self is a good start.
If after changing the internal narrative we still consider that there is not much to do to get closer to our ideal self, we can focus on the practice of mindfulness, this type of practice narrows the gap between the real self and the ideal self. .
The immediate advantage of this type of meditation is that it allows you to learn to observe your own thoughts without judging them. Giving up the role of judge greatly improves the depressive state.
Progressive self-ception among people with depression is another way to bring these two realities closer.
It may not be about achieving perfection, but recognizing this space of overcoming as a way to overcome. Treating us with love gives us a more relaxed emotional environment to set goals and reject others.
The practice of these strategies can be of great help in controlling our expectations and, therefore, the frustration that can result. In this sense, depression is probably a warning sign that we must pay attention and work on our internal gaps.