The effect of emotional disclosure by writing on depression severity and defense mechanisms among depressed patients

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Psychiatrist and the Professor of Tehran Medical Science University, Tehran, Iran

2 Psychologist and the Professor of Payam-e Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Psychologist and the Associate Professor of Payam-e Noor University, Tehran, Iran

4 Psychologist of Payam-e Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

5 Psychologist and the Fellow of Payam-e Noor University, Semnan, Iran.

Abstract

Background and Objective: Different studies have shown that emotional disclosure by writing in order to express affective and emotional experiences would decline negative affect, inhibition, and would help to select adaptive behaviors by infusing into the self. Thus, this research investigated whether instructing emotional disclosure by writing and applying more adaptive defense mechanisms decline depression severity among depressed individuals.
 Materials and Methods: In this study, 38 subjects (26 females, and 12 males) with major depression were selected and randomly assigned into experimental and control groups (each group contained 19 subjects). These 2 groups were paired by dose and type of medications they received during the period of study. They completed BDI and DMQ items prior to and after instructing and applying emotional disclosure for 4 weeks.
 Results: Data analysis (by SPSS software, version 16) and conducting independent t test revealed that emotional disclosure with writing can significantly reduce depression severity in experimental group in comparison with control group (p<0.05). IN addition, using mal-adaptive defense mechanisms (suppression, reaction formation, and compensation) in experimental group significantly declined in comparison with control group (p<0.05).
 Conclusion: Since creating insight, empathy and support sense due to applying emotional disclosure in depressed individuals can decline the load of input emotional burden to cognitive system and lead to improvement of cognitive performance, so, the individual would reduce using mal-adaptive defense mechanisms. Therefore, performing emotional disclosure is an efficient strategy in companion with other therapeutic strategies.

Keywords

References

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Daneshvar Medicine
Volume 19, Issue 2 - Serial Number 93
May and June 2011
Pages 1-10

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