The Depressive Personality

In contrast, there are ppl for whom “depressiveness” is more than a symptom. Although they do indeed feel sad and guilty, their emotional state emerges as an expectable consequence of an entire matrix of pervasive, long-standing characteristics.Always in a dejected and gloomy mood, they see themselves as inadequate and worthless.
U might feel worthless or guilty far in excess of what the circumstances should warrant. These symptoms are all associated w major depression, an Axis I disorder. *uh okay, it describes me well*
Let's see what infos u'll get next...


Gradually, things that used to fascinate u are no longer interesting. Hobbies, favorite recreations, and spending time w the ones u love are no longer pleasurable and may even seem burdensome.
The day becomes dominated by feelings of lethargy, being tired, run down, or overwhelmed by life. Your movements and mental processes may seem to move in slow motion, thoughts crawling like molasses.
A pervasive pessimism leads them to anticipate the worst—to expect that life will always go wrong and never improve. Their days are spent brooding and worrying, ignoring the good and dwelling on the bad. *it sounds like what's on my mind*

Such individuals may indeed be depressed, but their depression emerges from a way of thinking, feeling, and perceiving—a "depressive personality".

From a biological perspective, it is likely that there are genetic factors and inherited neurotransmitter profiles that play a role in the development and maintenance of the depressive personality.
The psychodynamic perspective offers the notion that there is an impoverishment of ego that leads to melancholia. These individuals represent 'emselves as worthless, incapable of achievement, and deserving to be cast out and punished.
The interpersonal perspective argues that they correctly perceive that they are being rejected by others but do not recognize how their behavior causes others to withdraw.
Depressives’ interpersonal style leads to and perpetuates their feelings of being inadequate and unworthy. Cognitively, depressives are pessimistic across every domain of their lives.


In the evolutionary model, the depressive personality is referred to as the passive-pain pattern. Characteristics include glumness, pessimism, an inability to experience pleasure, and psychomotor retardation.
The inclination to experience a troubled life w depressive symptomatology is not necessarily maladaptive in all of its aspects. Such inclinations signify an ability to communicate helplessness and dependency that elicits nurturing attention and care.
A distinction should be made between the experiences of the depressively prone and the avoidantly prone child. In the depressive, we see parental distancing or indifference; in the avoidant, we see rejection and devaluation.
The depressive infant lacks experiences of warmth and closeness; the avoidant does experience parental interaction, but it is of a deprecating and belittling nature. The depressive child learns to give up, since its efforts to bring forth the deficient warmth are unsuccessful.
Unlike the avoidant, who desperately seeks to avoid painful feelings of shame and humiliation, depressives passively accept what they view as no longer avoidable.

As w the masochistic personality, depressives seem to desire suffering, perhaps more suffering than their history, circumstances, or actual personal failures would warrant.

The depressive shares major traits w several other patterns. The schizoid, avoidant, and depressive personalities seem socially withdrawn and unable to find pleasure in life.

Schizoids, however, lack a basic capacity to experience emotions of any kind w any intensity.
Obviously unhappy, depressives nevertheless understand the concept of happiness, whereas the schizoid cannot.
Both avoidants and depressives often feel a sense of shame, fixate on their failures, and sometimes close 'emselves off from the world.
Avoidants, however, desperately want to join socially but take the perspective of others in viewing 'emselves as intrinsically defective.
In contrast, depressives just give up and accept their pathetic state as inevitable and irreversible.

The depressive also shares traits w the masochistic, negativistic, and borderline personalities.

Nevertheless, depressives are best distinguished by their hopelessness and social withdrawal, whereas masochists, though evidently unhappy, participate in their social surrounds and create situations of setback or failure that compound their own misery.
Both the depressive and negativistic share an abiding pessimism, a feeling of personal misfortune, and a sense of being misunderstood and devalued, but for different reasons.
In contrast, the pessimism and discontent of the depressive are far more broadly generalized. Moreover, the negativist fights back passive-aggressively, whereas the defeated depressive has no fight left.
The borderline personality is frequently dysphoric and depressed and, therefore, appears on the surface similar to the depressive personality.
However, borderlines are intensely labile; their emotions may suddenly shift from love to hatred, for example. In contrast, the depressive is steadily and passively gloomy.



Characteristics of a normal-range depressive personality style can be developed by creating less extreme parallels to the diagnostic criteria described in the DSM-IV.

The criterias of depressive personality disorder are:

*) The usual mood is typically gloomy or dejected, the personality style is more reflective of the negative aspects of self and situation

*) The disordered individual has a self-image of incompetence, worthlessness, or inadequacy

*) The disordered is overly self-critical and focus on the negative aspects, ignore the positive

*) The disordered broods and worries the style takes time to think things through from a realistic perspective

*) The disordered is sometimes overly critical and negativistic toward others

*) The disordered is pessimistic, the style is realistic, giving the negative its due

*) The disordered is excessively guilty and remorseful

There are variety of the depressive personality; The Ill-Humored Depressive, The Voguish Depressive, The Self-Derogating Depressive, The Morbid Depressive, The Restive Depressive

The Ill-Humored Depressive , subtype presents w grumbling discontent, endless complaints, and chronic irritability. Fears of bodily disease and illness are common. Such individuals act out their conflicts and ambivalent feelings. As Kretschmer (1925) has described them, they appear cold and selfish, irritable, and critical; they rejoice in the failures of others; and they never wish others the rewards and achievements of life.
Ill-Humored Depressive is a combination of the depressive and negativistic personalities.
The Voguish Depressive , this subtype asserts that only those gifted w special sensitivities have the capacity to feel w such depth and self-consciousness. Using fashionable language and reading avant-garde authors, they create a perception of acute suffering and awareness that draws attention and evokes admiration from others.
Voguish Depressive is a mix of the depressive and histrionic or narcissistic patterns.
The Self-Derogating Depressive , has similarity w masochistic character. Such individuals exhibit extraordinary guilt that lurks just below the surface, together w a need to discharge this guilt through various forms of self-punishment.
The Morbid Depressive , exhibit deep feelings of gloom and profound dejection. They slump down, turn their gaze away from others, and hold their heads like a heavy millstone. When not lost in deep gloom, morbid depressives engage in a withering self-contempt, demeaning everything about 'emselves and seeing only the worst of what they have done in life.
A combination of the masochistic and dependent patterns generates The Morbid Depressive.
The Restive Depressive , exhibit anguish and agitation. They are nervous, fretful, and distracted, and their emotional life consists of a sequence of brittle moods, usually short-lived and intense. Unable to get a firm hold on their feelings, they may commit self-destructive acts, expressed either directly through violent suicide or indirectly through severe alcohol or drug abuse.
The Restive Depressive is a mix of the depressive and avoidant personalities.

Conclusion :

Such individuals may indeed be depressed, but their depression emerges from a way of thinking, feeling, and perceiving—a "depressive personality".
The psychodynamic perspective offers the notion that there is an impoverishment of ego that leads to melancholia. These individuals represent 'emselves as worthless, incapable of achievement, and deserving to be cast out and punished.
The interpersonal perspective argues that they correctly perceive that they are being rejected by others but do not recognize how their behavior causes others to withdraw.
Depressives’ interpersonal style leads to and perpetuates their feelings of being inadequate and unworthy. Cognitively, depressives are pessimistic across every domain of their lives.
In the evolutionary model, the depressive personality is referred to as the passive-pain pattern. Characteristics include glumness, pessimism, an inability to experience pleasure, and psychomotor retardation.
The depressive shares major traits w several other patterns. The schizoid, avoidant, and depressive personalities seem socially withdrawn and unable to find pleasure in life. The depressive also shares traits w the masochistic, negativistic, and borderline personalities.
There are variety of the depressive personality; The Ill-Humored Depressive, The Voguish Depressive, The Self-Derogating Depressive, The Morbid Depressive, The Restive Depressive
Ill-humored depressive is a combination of the depressive and negativistic personalities. Voguish depressive is a mix of the depressive and histrionic or narcissistic patterns.
A combination of the masochistic and dependent patterns generates the morbid depressive. The restive depressive is a mix of the depressive and avoidant personalities.

Source : Personality Disorders in Modern Life, second edition by Theodore Millon and Seth Grossman, Carrie Millon, Sarah Meagher, Rowena Ramnath

Sincerely,

sick-psycho