Credit: Elena Elisseeva | Dreamstime
How Women Deal with Bad Memories Linked with Depression
Certain groups ofِ women mayِ beِ particularly prone toِ depression becauseِ of theِ way theyِ deal withِ negative memories, a newِ study says.
The results show healthy women whoِ scored high onِ tests ofِ neuroticism — a personality trait associatedِ with experiencing moreِ negative emotions, suchِ asِ anxiety — tended toِ return toِ theirِ bad memories toِ mull themِ over.
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This process, called rumination, is known to be linked with depression, the researchers said.
In addition, women whoِ tended toِ deal withِ negative memories byِ trying toِ suppress themِ were actuallyِ more likelyِ to recall negative memories, andِ then feel bad afterِ remembering them, compared withِ women whoِ usedِ otherِ coping strategies.
The findings suggest thatِ changing theِ way weِ deal withِ emotional challenges suchِ asِ negative memories mayِ helpِ prevent depression, saidِ study researcher Florin Dolcos, a psychology professor atِ the University ofِ Illinois atِ Urbana-Champaign.
Dolcos andِ colleagues surveyed aboutِ 70 men andِ women ages 18 toِ 34 whoِ didِ not haveِ a history ofِ depression orِ other psychiatric disorders.
