Unraveling Misleading Depictions of Depression
People frequently receive misleading information about depression, complicating their understanding of its origins. Psychiatric diagnoses, such as depression, primarily describe psychological symptoms rather than their underlying causes. Despite this, depression is often portrayed as a disorder responsible for symptoms like low mood ().
Researchers describe this as a form of circular reasoning, which means that psychiatric diagnoses are frequently talked about circularly, as if they described the causes for symptoms. This makes it difficult for people to understand their distress.
‘#Depression, like a #headache, is a medical diagnosis that describes symptoms without explaining their underlying causes. #mentalhealth’
Understanding Depression: Causes Beyond Diagnosis
"Like a headache, depression is a description of a problem that can have many different causes. A diagnosis of depression does not explain the cause of depressed mood any more than a diagnosis of headaches explains the cause of pain in the head," says Jani Kajanoja, a postdoctoral researcher and a medical doctor specialising in psychiatry at the University of Turku in Finland.This misconception is also perpetuated by mental health professionals, shows a recent study by the University of Turku and the University of the Arts Helsinki.
In the study, the researchers analysed publicly available information on depression provided by leading international health organisations. The researchers selected the websites of English-language organisations whose information on depression was the most influential according to search engine results. The organisations included the World Health Organisation (WHO), the American Psychiatric Association (APA), National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, and Harvard and Johns Hopkins Universities, among others.
Most organisations portrayed depression on their website as a disorder that causes symptoms and/or explains what causes the symptoms, although this is not the case. None of the organisations presented the diagnosis as a pure description of symptoms, as would have been accurate.
The researchers suggest that the problem may be caused by a cognitive bias.
"People seem to have a tendency to think that a diagnosis is an explanation even when it is not. It is important for professionals not to reinforce this misconception with their communication, and instead help people to understand their condition," says Professor and Neuropsychologist Jussi Valtonen from the University of the Arts Helsinki.
Reference:
- A Descriptive Diagnosis or a Causal Explanation? Accuracy of Depictions of Depression on Authoritative Health Organization Websites - (https:karger.com/psp/article-abstract/doi/10.1159/000538458/909052/A-Descriptive-Diagnosis-or-a-Causal-Explanation?redirectedFrom=fulltext)