An article based on the MPhil thesis of Adrian Dahl Askelund, written whilst he was at Queens' from 2017-18, has been published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.
Adrian explained:
'We found that recalling detailed positive memories was associated with reduced vulnerability to depression at both a psychological and physiological level. This shows the stress-reducing effects of remembering previous positive life experiences in our everyday lives. This also suggests that increasing access to detailed positive memories may aid prevention and treatment of depression.'
'We were interested in resilience, or why certain people do not develop depressive symptoms after negative life events. We found that those who recalled more detailed positive events from their past maintained good mental health even after major stressors. Interestingly, recalling detailed positive memories was not important for those who didn’t experience much stress during the study. This suggests that recalling positive memories may enhance resilience to stress in young people, especially in those who experience high levels of stress.'
As suggested by our study, being able to recall specific positive events from the past (‘when my friend asked me to be his best man’) may help in disconfirming negative thoughts about yourself (‘I am useless’). An interesting question is whether training this ability could improve the effects of psychotherapy for depression, in particular in disconfirming negative thoughts.
The full text of the article is readable online, and there is also a University of Cambridge press release.
Photograph: Adrian Dahl Askelund, credit Sebastian S. Bjerkvik, DN
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