Depression may be linked to how willing someone is to give up his goals
likens the relationship between mild and clinical depression to the one between normal and chronic pain
Dr Nesse’s hypothesis is that, as pain stops you doing damaging physical things, so low mood stops you doing damaging mental ones—in particular, pursuing unreachable goals
Pursuing such goals is a waste of energy and resources. Therefore, he argues, there is likely to be an evolved mechanism that identifies certain goals as unattainable and inhibits their pursuit—and he believes that low mood is at least part of that mechanis
Mild depressive symptoms can therefore be seen as a natural part of dealing with failure in young adulthood
They set in when a goal is identified as unreachable and lead to a decline in motivation
In this period of low motivation, energy is saved and new goals can be found
If this mechanism does not function properly, though, severe depression can be the consequence
clipped from: www.economist.com