Jonathan Rottenberg on the evolutionary roots of depression — it may not be a malfunction but an adaptive response that got stuck. And the hopeful finding: many people don't just recover from depression, they go on to flourish.
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Highlights
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Depression may be an adaptive response, not a malfunction
Rottenberg's thesis: depression evolved as a response to unattainable goals — a shutdown mechanism that forces recalibration. The problem is when it gets stuck.
Many people don't just recover from depression — they flourish
Rottenberg's research counters the assumption that depression is permanent: many people who recover go on to report higher well-being than they had before the depression.