Thursday, March 15, 2018

People with depression use language differently – here’s how to spot it

Empathy, clearly an important part of crisis negotiation and invetervention begins with understanding a person's perspective. From that understanding, the following I think you all will find interesting. Click the link at the bottom to read the entire article:


(BigThink.com)- From the way you move and sleep, to how you interact with people around you, depression changes just about everything. It is even noticeable in the way you speak and express yourself in writing. Sometimes this “language of depression” can have a powerful effect on others. Just consider the impact of the poetry and song lyrics of Sylvia Plath and Kurt Cobain, who both killed themselves after suffering from depression. 
...More interesting is the use of pronouns. Those with symptoms of depression use significantly more first person singular pronouns – such as “me”, “myself” and “I” – and significantly fewer second and third person pronouns – such as “they”, “them” or “she”. This pattern of pronoun use suggests people with depression are more focused on themselves, and less connected with others. Researchers have reported that pronouns are actually more reliable in identifying depression than negative emotion words.

Read more [HERE].