Depression: why is it important to let your emotions express themselves?

Depression is a pathology that is increasingly recognized and diagnosed, but whose mechanisms are still unclear in certain aspects. Canadian researchers decided to look into the risk of falling back into depression for people who had emerged from it, by studying emotions and their sensations.

“We don’t like to feel negative emotions. But we don’t really think about the implications of balancing our short-term relief with our long-term health. Our research explains why it is so important to feel all of our emotions.” explains one of the authors of the study, Norman Farb, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, Canada.

What is the risk of falling back into depression by being vulnerable?

For this, the scientists chose 166 volunteers, having already experienced a depressive episode but from which they had emerged. Using neuroimaging, Norman Farb, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, and Zindel Segal, Distinguished Professor of Mood Disorders Psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough, found that blocking sensations is linked to an increased risk of depression relapse.

Cognitive therapy vs mindfulness therapy

To achieve this result, the 166 participants were divided into two groups. They then underwent two different therapies for eight weeks, one based on cognitive therapy focusing on mindfulness and the other focusing on well-being. They were also followed before and up to two years after their therapy to assess any relapses, seeing them regularly every two months.

The researchers also studied their brain activity using functional cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while the volunteers watched four excerpts from TV shows, which do not trigger particular emotions, and excerpts from films likely to create emotions in them.

Participants who are closed to emotions

By exploiting the data from their work, the scientists note that the brains of people who relapsed following their initial depression were those which had a greater tendency to “close”. Indeed, certain parts of their brain that control sensations shut down more than others when exposed to emotionally charged video clips. In addition, the researchers also note that volunteers who express their sadness more significantly during film clips were not necessarily more likely to suffer from a relapse.

Add this sign as a marker of a future depression

On the other hand, participants tending to block their sensations, keep their feelings to give them meaning. And it is this negative spiral, which acts as an “echo chamber”, which will promote the risk of relapse. “If the person suppresses these bodily sensations, his thoughts will turn into increasingly depressive reactions.” says Professor Segal. For the researchers, this study could help create new assessments around this inhibition, as a risk marker for possible depression.