Depression

Return to the Why Don't Russians Smile? Book

Why Don't Russians Get Depressed?

Americans are more depressed than Russians, even though Russians are more self-reflective.

Two University of Michigan psychological scientists found that:
1️⃣ Russians were much more likely to be self-reflective: they think more about their fundamental nature and essence than Americans. But this Russian character trait was not linked to depression.*
2️⃣ Less analytical Americans had more symptoms of depression than Russians
3️⃣ Russians are more detached than while recalling a bad experience.
____🅰️ Russians thought about the bad event in a healthier way:
________(1) keeping more psychological distance from the emotional details.
________(2) analyzed their feelings, but with detachment, and this detachment buffered Russians from depression.
4️⃣ Like Eastern cultures, Russians embrace sadness and pity instead of trying to block it like Americans tend to do.
5️⃣ Russians tend to be more communal, more focused on interpersonal harmony
____🅰️ This allows them to see their own personal needs in larger context, from an outsider perspective.
6️⃣ Americans come from a tradition of rugged individualism, and tend to focus on the personal.
____🅰️ With less of a community perspective, they immerse themselves in the emotional details of negative events, and this self focus leads to distress and depression.

References

</references>