Depression and negative feedback

Self Help Magazine has a very informative article on clinical depression. People who are clinically depressed tend to seek out negative feedback by their behavior, thus pushing away people who would otherwise be able to help them.

Those behaviors, which tend to alienate people who might otherwise try to help, include excessive self-disclosure, hostile speech, negative self-evaluation, lack of responsiveness, reduced eye contact, negative facial displays and slowed or monotonic speech.

How true this is! I have personally seen this in myself and others who have a history of depression. It can be so hard to get or receive help when a person is stuck in this negative mode. The article points out that it is normal for everyone to seek feedback consistent with their self-image. For those who are not depressed and have high self-esteem, this naturally ends up being positive feedback.

This is why therapy/counseling/spiritual advising can be such a help, and also why building trust between the service provider and client is so important. Slowly, those barriers to self esteem can be knocked down.