The relationship between depression and humility

Is humility a phenomenon that protects us from depression?

Depression is a serious problem that, in spite of a growing knowledge of what it is, is still unknown to many people, including those who work in the field of psychology.

In spite of the great research on mood problems, it has not been possible to establish categorically what the causes of depression are, nor how to avoid it. In recent decades there has been talk of the importance that emotional intelligence could have as an influential factor in the onset of the disorder, especially if a person manifests humble personality traits.

That is why in the present article we are going to talk about the relationship between depression and humilityThe article discusses in depth about emotional intelligence and, also, some of the differences that have been seen between cultures on this issue.

Depression and emotional intelligence

Before addressing in more depth the relationship between depression and humility, it is necessary, first, to highlight the importance of understanding what are the causes behind depression. Then, it is necessary to understand how emotional intelligence, in which humility could be included, plays an important role in explaining the appearance of mood problems.

Depression is widely known, even outside of academia. Everyone is able to enumerate some of the characteristic symptoms of this disorderThe main symptoms of depression are, for example, negative mood, sadness, anhedonia, inability to feel pleasure and irritability. According to the WHO, depression is among the main health problems of the world's population, generating suffering both at a personal level and in the patient's own environment.

It is for these reasons that psychological research has focused on finding out what factors are behind the onset of depression. This would not only be for therapeutic purposes, improving current treatments by making them more precise, but would also serve to prevent the onset of this mood disorder.

In recent years, the onset of depression has been explained by relating it to the emotional intelligence of the patient.. This intelligence is understood, today, as the set of skills related to the regulation, control and correct use of emotions when having to make a decision, especially when it is related to some aspect that will determine the mental and physical health of the person, both in the short and long term.

Based on the definition previously given, the individual's ability to know how to identify both the emotion that he/she experiences and the emotion manifested by others is a vital factor in order to have a correct psychological adjustment. High levels of emotional intelligence have been related to a greater sense of emotional well-being, less stress, a more positive state of mind, greater self-esteem, less depression, greater optimism and more satisfaction with life in general.

On the other hand, it is understood that by having a limited emotional intelligence, one would have a lower level of emotional intelligence. a low control of negative emotionsdirectly associated with the manifestation of stress and depression. It has been seen that patients who have been diagnosed with depression have deficits in recognizing emotions in others.

Relationship between depression and humility.

Once the relationship between the broad concept of emotional intelligence and mood is understood, it is possible to give way to a better understanding of the relationship between depression and humility.

Traditionally, in psychology, when it comes to understanding well-being, the focus has been on how people perceive and experience their lives in a positive way. It had been considered that if a person carried out positive self-evaluations and had a good degree of motivation in the face of life's adversities, the subject could be considered a happy and psychologically adapted person.

However, while it is true that the extensive research that has addressed this has seen that having a good self-concept, even if it is an illusion, is something that can increase well-being, this is not everyone's opinion. There are several researchers who have seen that having a high motivation and an overly positive view of oneself can potentially harm both your interpersonal adjustment and your to both your interpersonal adjustment and your individual well-being.

Thus, several studies have found that those who take a more humble and modest view of themselves enjoy greater well-being. This aspect has been something that has attracted the attention of psychologists in recent decades, and it has been proposed to address it both taking into account cultural and generational differences.

Humility has been related to better regulation of one's mental healthIt has also been associated with lower negative affect, greater self-efficacy, respect and kindness towards other people, which translates into good interpersonal relationships and better cooperation in group tasks.

Despite all this, as with practically everything in psychology, it is necessary to define exactly what is meant by humility in the world of psychologists. Usually, behavioral science tries to define this concept in behavioral terms. By humility we could understand the fact of recognizing one's own limitations in social situationsThe concept of humility could be understood as the fact of recognizing one's own limitations in social situations, implying that one's traits and capabilities are not that great.

The group of Chen et al. (2009) tried to find out what were the components of humility, coming to the conclusion that they would be the following three:

• Undervaluing oneself
• Praising others
• Going unnoticed

With these three components proposed here, it can be understood that humility consists, to be more precise, in not giving too much importance to one's own strengths, valuing one's own strengths above those of others.The humble person is more focused on his or her own strengths than on those of others and tries to go unnoticed in social situations, without standing out.

The humble person focuses more on others than on him/herself, and not in terms of envy or wanting to be like others. They opt for self-regulating behaviors, highlighting the importance of others and not feeling anxious about lacking certain characteristics. In this way, without envying and knowing how to see the best in others, the person feels good about him/herself, enjoying a high degree of well-being..

It should also be noted that the humble person, as he or she does not usually envy others, does not make risky decisions to feed his or her ego or try to stand out from others. For example, in relation to psychopathological disorders, anorexic people, who usually have very perfectionist traits, feel a great social pressure that pushes them to try to reach the current impossible standards of beauty. This translates into all the problems related to eating disorders.

Humility is a protective factor against the manifestation of depression.The person already feels comfortable with the way he/she is, without seeking to satisfy the vision of others about what they expect from him/her or what, at a social level, he/she is expected to achieve. Being aware that he is not perfect and will not be perfect, the humble person does not pretend to achieve the impossible and, therefore, does not feel frustrated.

Cultural differences

In spite of all that has been mentioned in the previous section, it is worth mentioning that differences have been found between countries which could dismantle, to some extent, the idea that humility is a protective factor against psychological problems, especially depression and anxiety.

Some of the research that has addressed this issue has found that humility correlates negatively with subjective happiness. It should be said that this has been seen in samples of adolescents from Western countries and that, taking into account that puberty is a time of great changes in which one seeks to stand out and create a group of friends, it is logical to think that those who try to go unnoticed end up feeling isolated from others, becoming marginalized and depressed.

On the other hand, it has been Asian cultures have shown that humility is a protective factor for mental health.. In countries such as China, Japan and Korea, which are much more collectivist societies than Europe or North America, humility is seen as a socially desirable and fundamental objective in interaction with others. Whoever is modest is a person who, on a social level, has succeeded.

This is why, taking into account these cultural differences, it is to be expected that adults in Asian countries who have humble traits already enjoy a higher degree of well-being. On the one hand, and in relation to what has been previously commented, because they do not worry about standing out or being the best and, on the other hand, because they enjoy a trait that at a social level is highly valued.

Bibliographical references:

• Fernández-Berrocal, P., Alcaide, R., and Extremera, N. (2006) The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Anxiety and Depression among Adolescents. Individual Differences Research, 4(1). 16-27.
• Zheng, C. y Wu, Y. (2019) The More Modest You are, the Happier You are: The Mediating Roles of Emotional Intelligence and Self-esteem. Journal of Happiness Studies. DOI: 10.1007/s10902-019-00144-4
• Downey, L. A., et al. (2008). The relationship between emotional intelligence and depression in a clinical sample. The European Journal of Psychiatry, 22(2). 93-98.