Depression is not one of my favorite subjects to write about. Nevertheless, it is an interesting one as it relates to belief in realism and research on mental health.

Amborse Bierce, a 19th century American writer, defined a pessimist as "a person who sees the world as it is." His witty definition fits humanists to a tee. After all, we are a pretty realistic bunch who don't believe in illusions. But, as we shall see in this synopsis of an article (Harvard Mental Health Letter, April, 1995), there is a potential hazard in disbelief.

According to mental health professionals, facing reality can have its drawbacks. For example, studies of people who were diagnosed with depression were found to be quite realistic about themselves. They were better than average at predicting events in their lives, especially misfortunes. They were more realistic about their capacity for control. They were also found to be more accurate judges of their own social competence than non-depressive people. They were better at evaluating the impression they make on others. The one area, however, where depressed people were not very realistic was their inability to make accurate judgments about others. Depressed people are highly self-focused-concerned with their thoughts, feelings, behavior and appearance rather than with the external world, so their judgment about others could be somewhat distorted.

Non-depressed people, on the other hand, are more likely to be excessively optimistic, to overestimate themselves, and to have an exaggerated sense of their ability to control events. Their magnified optimism, elated moods, and sense of well-being are attributed to their ability to be resilient under stress. They have a greater capacity for persistence, and a decreased vulnerability to illness. In short, non-depressed people appear to be better functioning and happier because of their personal illusions.

These studies contradict common sense, and theoretical assumptions that good mental health is associated with a high capacity to perceive and test reality. If depressed people already view themselves more realistically than non-depressed people, then their thought patterns hardly need correcting by cognitive therapy. Not so, say the experts. To get out of a depressed state, there is good evidence that depressed people could use some training in how to construct illusions.

What! Ask a humanist to construct illusions? Blasphemous! On the other hand, if we are the independent, free-thinkers we claim to be, then we should be open to the suggestions of esteemed social scientists, especially if their methods work. We could learn to develop normal, healthy personal illusions, just like our religious friends, only we'd realize we were doing it; and we wouldn't go as far as they go in constructing our illusions. Actually, I'd feel more comfortable calling them "enhanced perceptions" rather than "illusions."

Paul Kurtz wrote a wonderful therapeutic book called Exuberance wherein he suggests all kinds of optimistic ways Humanists can approach and appreciate life, from experiencing good food to good sex. It's a prescriptive outline for positive thinking and for enhancing our everyday life.

Another therapy for depressed people, since they are so focused on themselves, is to become more involved with helping others. It could be as simple as calling a friend, making new acquaintances, attending social gatherings, writing a letter to the editor, or becoming involved in a social cause. Good mental health requires that we see and experience life as both a private and social event. Like the ad on TV says, "Reach out and touch someone."

If realism and depression are significantly correlated, as the mental health professionals tell us, then Humanists should be especially aware of the maladaptive features so they can develop attitudes and behaviors that will enhance their well-being. The famous clinician, Sigmund Freud, wrote of this subject in his essay, "Mourning and Melancholia."

When in his [the depressive's] heightened self-criticism he describes himself as petty, egoistic, dishonest, lacing in independence, one whose sole aim has been to hide the weakness of his own nature, it may be, so far as we know, that he has come pretty near to understanding himself; we only wonder why a man has to be ill before he can be accessible to a truth of this kind.

--Nancy Moore