Citation

Rottenberg J, Devendorf AR, Kashdan TB, Disabato DJ. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 2018; 13(5): 549-566.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, George Mason University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Association for Psychological Science, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1177/1745691618769868

PMID

30213257

Abstract

We address a key issue at the intersection of emotion, psychopathology, and public health-the startling lack of attention to people who experience benign outcomes, and even flourish, after recovering from depression. A rereading of the epidemiological literature suggests that the orthodox view of depression as chronic, recurrent, and lifelong is overstated. A significant subset of people recover and thrive after depression, yet research on such individuals has been rare. To facilitate work on this topic, we present a generative research framework. This framework includes (a) a proposed definition of healthy end-state functioning that goes beyond a reduction in clinical symptoms, (b) recommendations for specific measures to assess high functioning, and (c) a road map for a research agenda aimed at discovering how and why people flourish after emotional disturbance. Given that depression remains the most burdensome health condition worldwide, focus on what makes these excellent outcomes possible has enormous significance for the public health.

Language: en

Keywords

depression; outcome; well-being