Sad reflections of positive past selves: reduced emotional benefit of positive central life events during depression

Abstract Positive central life events are positive past events that are perceived to be central to one’s identity. These events are thought to have important self-enhancing functions, such as promoting wellbeing, self-esteem, and positive emotions in healthy individuals. Research on how individuals with depression respond to positive central life events is scarce. However, evidence from studies examining responses to positive memories more broadly, suggests that individuals with depression respond differently to positive memories than individuals with no history of depression. These findings raise the question of whether individuals with depression may not benefit from positive central life events in the same way as healthy individuals. The current study aimed to address this question by investigating how individuals with past or current depression respond to positive central life events compared to individuals who have never been depressed. We asked never-depressed individuals, individuals with past depression, and individuals with current depression to report two positive life events that they viewed as central to their identity. Participants rated the intensity of happiness, intensity of sadness, brooding, and self-incongruency experienced in response to each event. Individuals with current depression reported less intense happiness, and greater self-incongruency when thinking about their positive central life events, compared to individuals without a depression history. Individuals with past depression did not differ from never-depressed individuals on any of the outcome measures. These findings suggest that dampened happiness and reduced ability to relate to positive central life events may reflect a concomitant phenomenon of current depressive episode rather than a lasting vulnerability in individuals with past depression. However, further research is needed to confirm this possibility. This includes studies investigating how individuals with past and current depression respond to positive central life events that are retrieved spontaneously in everyday life. Future studies should also address whether the impairment may become more persistent with a higher number of past depressive episodes. In addition, due to the largely female university sample in the present study, there is a need to confirm the results in non-students and other genders.