What’s Love Got to Do With It? The Relational Nature of Depressive Experiences

Abstract

Clinical depression is a condition that involves depressed mood and intense sadness that lasts for more than a “normal” span of time. Depression has been considered a medical disorder by psychiatry and as such has been researched through “objective” positivist empirical methods. Very few in-depth qualitative studies on depression have been undertaken. This study looked at the depressive experience from a subjective perspective and found that depression is a complex process that involves relationships. Using methodical hermeneutical approach, (revised version of grounded theory), this study found that depression was largely a relational phenomenon. Under this category, three findings arose: self in relation, self-criticism and self-loathing, and loneliness and disconnection. Further conclusions suggest that the traditional medical “objective” conceptualization of depression is inadequate for understanding the totality of the depressed experience and that more emphasis should be placed on the “subjective” aspect of the condition.