Often times, depression and anxiety can be closely linked to one another. A person whom experienced losses, defeat, or rejection in their past (low positive effect), will likely also experience anxiety (high negative effect). The more sever the depression, the higher the anxiety. Low depression is attributed to attachments, while higher levels of depression are contributed to social ranking.
A person with low positive effect will feel inferior to his or her peers within the same social environment, feeling submissive and often times defeated in any social competition. That's because in any social competition a hierarchy does exists--peers rating and perceiving each other.
A study completed by a professor at the University of Toronto showed that any time people come together in a group, a hierarchy will exist, and the ranking of each person becomes predictable, based on the people with lowest positive effect. Predictability was based on the ability for a person to hold positive attraction--how prominent, respected, influential, a person is--how likable are they?
The lower on the social ranking a person is, the higher the level of depression they may experience--feeling anxious, trapped and unable to escape from their social environment, retreating to themselves with no support from family, friends or peers, feeling a sense of rejection.
IDS is the social rank competition theory (Gilbert, 2000; Sloman, 2000) which contributes depression to the inability for a person to terminate IDS at the end of a social rank competition. Everyday millions of North American's deal with the social pressures of society and fight to be part of and or hold a position in their social environment.
Overcome depression by getting along with those around you and in time you too will get ahead and on top of the social rank.
Bruno LoGreco Master Life Coach and Mentor - Life Coach Toronto
13 comments:
the thought comes to mind that your place in the hierarchy is also subjective -- if you are blue or have a low level depression, i would think that your perception of your position in the social hierarchy may be skewed. where others perceive you to be, might be much higher than where you perceive you to be -- a vicious cycle begins to fuel itself, no?
storm
The organiser of a study also introduces biases which may not be acknowledged or accounted for in his own analysis. A point to add is all people who seem to make up a group may not actually believe in hierarchies or view themselves somewhere within the levels. An example would be someone who has dissolved fears and insecurities you discuss. As you discover unconditional love and self-acceptance, you no longer judge, criticize or compare. You sense power inside you for what it is.
Do you have a link to the study itself?
Something strikes me as a bit odd about this but I can't quite put my finger on it.
How would something like this (a person's place in any given 'social hierarchy' specifically) be actually measured or evaluated? And, what types of social situations were considered by the study? Introverts who become extroverts under the influence of alcohol may have a higher standing within their hierarchy on any given night but ultimately have a higher level of depression as a result of ultimately having their social habits be inconsistent with their supposed social standing (while out with their peers). And that would seem counter to what you are suggesting (just as one example off the top of my head).
Maybe I read too much into it or misunderstood. Still, interesting topic!
Hi Storm - I guess it depends on the level of positive effect in their life. If there is a lack of self esteem, their perception can be completed skewed.
The professor did - which i failed to mention :( - use a scale (a measure) in his study that determined the level of rating/perception each person within a group participates in. The study tested 100 students. I couldn't write fast enough and I missed the calculation. To your point Liara - after the lecture I reviewed my notes and I had the same thought as you - What about the people that discover unconditional love and self-acceptance, are they 100% perfect in their everyday life? The answer is No - In my case - I have judged, not in a negative manner, but I've had passing thoughts about a person--where they've come from and why...
Hi traisas - unfortunately I don't. It was on TVO yesterday afternoon - The show was called, "Ideas." The show showcased the top 10 professors from around Canada. Each professor gave a one hour lecture.
The professor did illustrate ( I missed it) the scale and the measurement used to test his theory. No specific social group was targeted - The study focused on teenagers and how the behaviors are carried into adulthood. The study did include the hierarchy of an existing social environment, peer to peer.
Keeping in mind that this study was used to examine people that experience depression and the triggers which promote anxiety. A person must experience enough (don't know how much, each person is different) of a loss, defeat or rejection and they are unable to turn off their IDS. The remedy to turn off the IDS, as the professor suggests, get along with those around and you will get ahead.
It will require some work on self, but the statement is correct.
Do you remember the name of the professor?
Bingo:
University of Toronto (Scarborough) professor Marc Fournier (Psychology) delivers his lecture entitled, Dominance and Depression, in the first half of this rebroadcast of the 2008 Best Lecturer competition.
You can watch it at:
http://www.tvo.org/TVOsites/WebObjects/TvoMicrosite.woa/wo/sLyhFHbOVlVwL3YSSLXh1w/13.0.0.33.29.26.5.19.0.1
A person who doesn't believe in hierarchies may simply choose to see beyond rigid structures. Imagine a world where you accept people and situations without judging, ranking or comparing. How would it feel?
Perfection is a state of mind you grow to know within yourself. Its an experience that just "is." If you feel compelled to judge, study and differentiate, then you are still viewing yourself as superior and inferior in some way. So long as you believe in duality, you are still learning about unconditional love and self-acceptance but not yet experiencing them as they are.
I don't agree with hierarchies - Nor do I think we all walk around ranking or perceiving ourselves. I certainly don't.
While I agree with you Liara - when I do judge i'm not judging because I want to feel superior, I'm analyzing so I can potentially engage in conversation with the person for the purpose of providing support.
Some clients are ready to go through the process, they are open and honest, while others are curious about the process and not truthful - this is when experience and intuition come into play.
Thanks for finding the link to the video. I'll try to watch it later on today and give some better feedback :)
On the question of judging and comparing: I think everybody judges and compares all the time. I think it's an inherent part of how we choose to act in any situation. That doesn't necessarily mean it's negative or that one's judgements have to be rigid. But certainly even if you are going to do something as simple as engage in a conversation with someone you've just met, whether you are conscious of the fact or not, every word that the two of you exchange contributes to the forming of a perception/image/idea of who/what the other person is. You are making judgements in order to create context, in order to comprehend/understand any given situation.
The key, I think, is to not allow seemingly passive ASSUMPTIONS that you may have, to be applied to other people. As well as recognizing when you are "projecting" of your own personality traits onto other people (that is, assuming someone has a certain trait simply because you do).
But then again, I am no psychologist :)
Hmmm...Does this mean that people in the third world country who are fully aware of their lower class or social status are more depressed or more susceptable to depression than people who are in
G8 countries?
What about students who are not popular are they more prone to depression?
i'd agree that depression and anxiety are linked since there is enough clinical evidence by now that stress and anxiety, and the chemical changes they introduce into the system, break down the seratonin levels which are needed for feelings of well-being and ability to cope with one's surroundings in a meaningful way...
i'm not sure of the suggestion you've put in here about the connection between depression and one's place in a social hierarchy though... while depression can be cause by the unwillingness and/or inability to accept one's life circumstances by reacting in a negative way and causing the chemical imbalances, these imbalances can also be caused by many other factors, including diet, hereditary defects and/or mental/physical disturbances introduced in one's environment...
hope this helps... keep well....
Interesting study, Bruno. It's sad to think that a person's perceived social standing can have such an impact on self-esteem. I wonder where the notion of being inner-directed, or self-directed, comes into play. I'd bet that those who come from a position of inner power and self-direction are charismatic and attract that social reinforcement by being self-directed. Could be a which came first?/chicken or egg question.
traisas - projection is definitely a good topic to write about, but I'm not sure that a person dealing with high level of depression would have it in them to project - they are too busy inside their own heads.
Chris -oddly enough depression is a mental disorder only diagnosed in the western world. The east, specifically developing nations, are not familiar nor experience depression. Servants, cast systems, etc. are a way of life in some countries. Thousands of generations have lived and died knowing only poverty as a way of life - nothing to be depressed about - they don't know any other way.
Every child is different and without the background it's hard to say. However, an unpopular child with high positive effect in his/her life will not be prone to depression, regardless of popularity at school, but throw in one physical move for the child, between age 6 to 13, and we now have the recipe for depression, throw in a second move and we are definitely going to be dealing with depression.
Depression can be caused by any number of environmental influences, past and or present. Depression can stem from attachments or social, with the exception if it's heredity. Involuntary Defeat Strategy is better explained in the link provided. Hope this helps bart.
Its a way of life for so many people living in the West. But to your point San, like attracts like -I would venture to guess that a person dealing with this type of depression, social based, are likely to have influencers within their life that are influenced by social ranking. It could very well be a question of which came first? Chicken or egg?
Thank you everyone for all the comments - I really enjoyed discussing this topic with the various view points. Depression can be a caused by any number of reasons, loss, change of life, not finding your purpose, any number of circumstances could cause depression. The level of depression and the length of time a person experiences depression will all depend on external influences, influences which could have occurred at a very young age. Everybody is different, everybody responds to different influences - I hope my response to everyone's comments has helped.
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