HHS HealthBeat (November 10, 2008)

A healthy distance

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Tishia Humes with HHS HealthBeat.

Many people suffer from feeling depressed without knowing how to cope. Researchers looked at that. They examined how people cope with negative feelings and work through their reactions to negative experiences.

The study had 141 people recall a sad or depressed experience and then focus on those experiences in different ways.

Ethan Kross of the University of Michigan suggests a minute or so of standing back from the experience – sort of looking at yourself and your reactions from a distance. He says it gives you a chance to analyze your feelings more objectively.

“That kind of psychological distance is really crucial for enabling people to think about and make sense of experiences without becoming overwhelmed.’’ (8 seconds)

The study in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

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HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Tishia Humes.

Last revised: November, 07 2008