The Illusions of Psychiatry

Re:The Illusions of Psychiatry by diogenescynic on Saturday July 16, 2011 @08:45PM (#2772199)

Depressive realism is the proposition that people with depression actually have a more accurate perception of reality, specifically that they are less affected by positive illusions of illusory superiority, the illusion of control and optimism bias. The concept refers to people with borderline or moderate depression, suggesting that while non-depressed people see things in an overly positive light and severely depressed people see things in overly negative light, the mildly discontented grey area in between in fact reflects the most accurate perception of reality: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_realism

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Re:The Illusions of Psychiatry by schrijver on Sunday July 17, 2011 @08:13AM (#2773155)

I’ve read some findings that saw depressive patients perform better on risk assessment tests than people who were not depressed. It doesn’t surprise me. Because having an accurate perception of reality is problematic. One actually needs an overly positive view of live to a) enjoy it and to b) get things done.

You can get consolation from your past only because you forget the pain more quickly than the beauty. You can look forward to the future only because you project the exciting moments rather than the boring ones (which will surely be more numerous). And the most relevant in the context of Hacker News: when you get enthousiastic about a project, you tend to grossly underestimate the time and effort it will cost to complete it. Had you been realistic at the outset, you might not have started at all.

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Re:The Illusions of Psychiatry by wallawe on Monday July 18, 2011 @03:03PM (#2777647)

This just leads you further down the rabbit hole. To say that someone has a "more accurate perception of reality" then begs the question of what reality is. When it comes down to it, reality is simply how you perceive the external world. If you perceive it in a positive light, this shouldn't be dismissed as an optimism bias and vice versa.

Some of the happiest and most successful people rely on "never-ending optimism," which then fuels hard work thus creates success, confidence, happiness, etc. If you view the world in a negative light, the opposite is likely to happen.

Essentially, what it comes down to, is that you create your own reality. That is why I have a tough time believing the legitimacy of present day psychiatrists' prescription happy ways. Even if the conscious mind is cured through antidepressants, etc. there is still trouble boiling below.

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