Jonathan Rottenberg

Nearly every depressed person is assured by doctors, well-meaning friends and family, the media, and ubiquitous advertisements that the underlying problem is a chemical imbalance. Such a simple defect should be fixable, yet despite all of the resources that have been devoted to finding a pharmacological solution, depression remains stubbornly widespread. Why are we losing this fight? In this humane and illuminating challenge to defect models of depression, psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg argues that depression is a particularly severe outgrowth of our natural capacity for emotion. In other words, it is a low mood gone haywire. Drawing on recent developments in the science of mood—and his own harrowing depressive experience as a young adult—Rottenberg explains depression in evolutionary terms, showing how its dark pull arises from adaptations that evolved to help our ancestors ensure their survival. Moods, high and low, evolved to compel us to more efficiently pursue rewards. While this worked for our ancestors, our modern environment—in which daily survival is no longer a sole focus—makes it all too easy for low mood to slide into severe, long-lasting depression. Weaving together experimental and epidemiological research, clinical observations, and the voices of individuals who have struggled with depression, The Depths offers a bold new account of why depression endures—and makes a strong case for de-stigmatizing this increasingly common condition. In so doing, Rottenberg offers hope in the form of his own and other patients’ recovery, and points the way towards new paths for treatment.

The Evolutionary Origins of the Depression Epidemic

The Depths

"This chapter grapples with the challenges of defining depression, including challenges that arise from our imprecise use of language. Depression is at its core a kind of mood state. Mood states organize our minds and our bodies and motivate us to pursue goals. It is possible to understand depression by focusing on the scientific principles that explain why humans and other organisms have mood. A key goal is to become a more educated consumer of one's own mood and to understand the forces that operate on mood more generally. This framework can allow us to understand why people become depressed, why depression has occurred over human history, and why depression might be epidemic in some periods in human history, including the present day"--

What Everyone Needs to Know®

Depression

Depths

Sheri L. Johnson

Synthesizing theoretical and methodological developments in affective science and highlighting their potential application to psychopathology, this edited volume illustrates the importance of transferring basic research into the clinical area and considers the potential payoffs of using affective science to conceptualize and treat major mental disorders.

Jonathan Rottenberg

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