The relationship between depression and humility

Depression is a serious problem that, despite having more knowledge every day about what it is, remains unknown to many people, including those in the field of psychology.

Despite the great research on mood problems, it has not been possible to establish conclusively what the causes of depression are or how to avoid it. In recent decades, there has been talk of the importance that emotional intelligence could have as a factor influential in the appearance of the disorder, especially the fact that a person manifests personality traits humble.

That is why in this article we are going to talk about the relationship between depression and humility, talking in depth about emotional intelligence and, also, some differences that have been seen between cultures on this matter.

• Related article: "Major Depression: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment"

Depression and emotional intelligence

Before addressing the relationship between depression and humility in greater depth, it is necessary, in First, highlight the importance of understanding the causes behind depression. Immediately afterwards, it is necessary to understand how emotional intelligence, in which the humility, acquires an important role when it comes to explaining the appearance of the problems of the state of cheer up.

Depression is widely known, even outside of academia. Everyone is able to list some of the characteristic symptoms of this disorder.such as negative mood, sadness, anhedonia, inability to feel pleasure, and irritability. According to the WHO, depression is among the main health problems of the world population, generating suffering both personally and in the environment of the patient himself.

It is for these reasons that psychological research has focused on finding out what are the factors behind the onset of depression. This would not be solely for therapeutic purposes, improving current treatments making them more precise, but would also serve to prevent the appearance of this state disorder psychic.

In recent years, Attempts have been made to explain the onset of depression by relating it to the emotional intelligence of the patient.. This intelligence is understood, today, as the set of skills related to the regulation, control and correct use of emotions when it comes to having to make a decision, especially when it is related to some aspect that will determine the mental and physical health of the person, both in the short and long term.

Based on the definition previously given, the individual's ability to know how to identify both the emotion that he lives as the one that others manifest is a vital factor to have a correct adjustment psychological. High levels of emotional intelligence have been linked to a greater sense of emotional well-being, less stress, a more positive mood, higher self-esteem, less depression, greater optimism and more satisfaction with life in general.

On the contrary, it is understood that by having a limited emotional intelligence, one would have low control of negative emotions, directly associated with the manifestation of stress and depression. It has been seen that patients who have been diagnosed with depression present deficits when it comes to recognizing emotions in others.

• You may be interested in: "What is emotional intelligence?"

Relationship between depression and humility

Once the relationship between the broad concept of emotional intelligence and mood is understood, it is possible to give way to a better understanding of the relationship between depression and humility.

Traditionally, in psychology, when it comes to understanding what well-being is, the focus has been on the way in which people perceive and experience their lives in a positive way. It had been considered that if a person carried out positive self-evaluations and had a good degree of motivation in the face of life's adversities, the subject could be considered a happy and psychologically adapted.

However, while it is true that the extensive research that has addressed this has seen that having a good Self-conception, even if it is an illusion, is something that can increase well-being, it is not the opinion of everyone the world. Several researchers have seen that having a high motivation and an overly positive view of oneself can imply potential harm both to his interpersonal adjustment and to his individual well-being.

Thus, several investigations have seen that those people who take a more humble and modest vision of themselves enjoy greater well-being. This aspect has been something that has caught the attention of psychologists in recent decades, and it has been proposed to address it both taking cultural and generational differences into account.

Humility has been linked to better regulation of one's own mental health, less negative affect, greater self-efficacy, respect and kindness with other people that translate into good interpersonal relationships as well as better cooperation in group tasks.

Despite all this, as with practically everything in psychology, it is necessary to define exactly what is meant by humility in the world of psychologists. Usually, behavioral science tries to define this concept in, of course, behavioral terms. By humility we could understand the fact that recognize their own limitations in social situations, implying that one's own traits and capabilities are not that bad.

The group of Chen et al. (2009) tried to find out what the components of humility were, concluding that they would be the following three:

• devalue oneself
• praise others
• Unnoticed

With these three components proposed here, it can be understood that humility consists, being more precise, in not giving too much importance to one's own strengths, valuing the capacities of others above their own and trying to go unnoticed in social situations, without standing out.

The humble person focuses more on others than on himself, and not in terms of envy or wanting to be like others. She opts for self-regulatory behaviors, emphasizing the importance of others and not feeling distressed about lacking certain characteristics. In this way, without envying and knowing how to see the best in others, the person feels good about themselves, enjoying a high degree of well-being.

It should also be noted that the humble person, since they do not usually envy others, does not make risky decisions to feed their ego or try to stand out from others. For example, relating to psychopathological disorders, anorexic people, who usually have very perfectionists, they feel great social pressure that pushes them to try to achieve the impossible canons of beauty current. This translates into all the problems related to eating disorders.

Humility is a protective factor against the manifestation of depression, given that the person already feels comfortable with how they are, without seeking to satisfy the vision of others about what they expect of them or what, at a social level, they are expected to achieve. Being aware that they are not perfect nor will they be, the humble person does not intend to achieve the impossible and that is why they do not feel frustrated.

Cultural differences

Despite everything discussed in the previous section, it can be said that differences have been found between countries which could dismantle, to a certain extent, that humility is a protective factor against psychological problems, especially depression and anxiety.

Some of the research that has addressed this issue has found humility to be negatively correlated with subjective happiness. It should be said that this has been seen in samples of adolescents from Western countries and that, taking into account that puberty is a time of great changes in which stand out and create a group of friends, it is logical to think that those who try to go unnoticed end up feeling isolated from others, reaching marginalization and depression.

On the other hand, yes It has been seen in Asian cultures that humility is a protective factor for mental health. In countries like China, Japan and Korea, which are much more collectivist societies than Europe or In North America, humility is seen as a socially desirable and fundamental goal in interaction with the rest. Who is modest is a person who, on a social level, has succeeded.

That is why, taking into account these cultural differences, it is to be expected that adults from Asian countries who have humble features already enjoy a greater degree of welfare. On the one hand, and in relation to what was previously commented, because they do not worry about standing out or being the best and, on the other hand, because they enjoy a trait that is highly valued at a social level.

Bibliographic references:

• Fernández-Berrocal, P., Alcaide, R., and Extremera, N. (2006) The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Anxiety and Depression among Adolescents. Individual Differences Research, 4(1). 16-27.
• Zheng, C. and Wu, Y. (2019) The Most Modest You are, the Happiest You are: The Mediating Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Self-esteem. Journal of Happiness Studies. DOI: 10.1007/s10902-019-00144-4
• Downey, L. A., et al. (2008). The relationship between emotional intelligence and depression in a clinical sample. The European Journal of Psychiatry, 22(2). 93-98.