International Perspectives on Reminiscence, Life Review and Life Story Work by Faith Gibson

Author:Faith Gibson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784507442
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 2018-10-16T16:00:00+00:00

Self-positive functions of reminiscence

The outstanding finding of the present study was the comparatively high reliance by the clinically depressed individuals on the self-positive functions of reminiscence. All the studies reviewed in the introduction above consistently point out a negative link between self-positive reminiscences and psychological distress. In other words, more reminiscing for these functions is typically associated with less psychological distress. Importantly, in that line of research, psychological distress is conceptualized on a continuum of levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety and life satisfaction and examined in the general population of community living older adults. As shown above, when the focus is made singularly on depression as a clinical entity, a different pattern emerges, one of activated self-positive reminiscences, one that seems exclusive to depression and not anxiety.2

The present study helps us understand the dynamic interplay between self-positive functions and depression. It appears that depression triggers a process of ‘life reflection’, a term proposed by Staudinger (2001) that corresponds to self-positive reminiscences, as an attempt to cope. This ‘life reflection’ involves reviewing negative and positive events, interpreting them in terms of a coherent life narrative, and comparing the past with present condition. In depression, these processes, plagued by negative comparisons and images of failures, only meet sporadic success, and are thus repeatedly activated.

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