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This article includes:
01. If psychoanalysis is “effective” for depression, it is related to these 3 factors
02. Although the mood has improved, they have become modern versions of “Ah Q”
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Recently, we have written several articles analyzing the clinical application of psychoanalytic schools in mental disorders, which, although effective, are very inefficient. In short, it is difficult to relieve patients’ symptoms in a short time, and it may even cause teenage patients to resent their parents, have greater emotional fluctuations, and worsen the condition.
However, some netizens may be puzzled as they find that some depression patients who have undergone psychoanalysis have shown obvious emotional improvement, even changing their previous low self-esteem and timidity, appearing to have made significant positive changes.
So what’s going on here?
For this situation, it can mainly be divided into 2 categories. One is more common among relatively emotional, already adult female depression patients who believe they are suitable for psychoanalysis, perceive positive insights, understand many things, and see an improvement in their depressive mood.
However, their personality disorders have worsened, most commonly paranoid personality disorders or narcissistic personality disorders. It’s just that because they are adults with more social experience and know that they cannot easily expose their true thoughts, they “hide” more deeply.
The other category is more common among adolescent patients. After undergoing psychoanalysis, they appear to have improved depressive moods, are no longer emo, but have not truly moved towards mental health. They exhibit certain personality disorders, even more severe, and develop a self-comforting “Ah Q spirit,” relying on the “victory in spirit” to maintain emotional stability, yet neither the psychoanalyst nor the patient themselves are aware of it.
Why say this? How to distinguish whether the patient’s “improvement” falls into this category? The following is an in-depth analysis from the perspective of precision mental psychology.
01. If psychoanalysis is “effective” for depression, it is related to these 3 factors
Why do some depression patients show a significant improvement in mood after undergoing psychoanalysis? This needs to start with the real cause of depression.
After repeated analysis, it was found that the main cause of depression is not genetic factors, nor abnormal concentrations of brain neurotransmitters.
Regarding genetic factors, to date, the Human Genome Project has spent at least 30 years and a huge amount of funds, yet has not found the so-called pathogenic genes.
Regarding the “neurotransmitter theory,” in recent years, many scholars have raised doubts, believing that this is not the root cause of depression, at most, it is an intermediate factor. Moreover, the concentration of neurotransmitters in many depression patients is not significantly abnormal.
So what is the real root cause of depression? A large amount of practice in clinical precision psychological intervention has found that the main cause of depression is postnatal psychosocial factors. Specifically, it is that individuals have suffered a large number of cumulative psychological traumas from childhood to adulthood and have developed a complete internal attribution pattern, continuously self-denying when facing difficulties and setbacks.
These pathological memories accumulate continuously, and finally, with qualitative changes, patients exhibit symptoms of depression.
However, because many cumulative psychological traumas are stored in patients’ implicit memory layers, patients cannot remember, and they may not necessarily realize that their attribution patterns are irrational. Therefore, many depression patients do not understand why they are ill.
Understanding the real causes of depression can further understand why the psychoanalytic school can alleviate the negative emotions of some depression patients. It is mainly related to the following 3 factors:
First, some patients who undergo psychoanalysis will unconsciously shift from the original “complete internal attribution” to “complete external attribution.”
For example, many psychoanalysts tend to overly emphasize the negative influence brought by the original family, especially the patient’s parents.
Many patients’ parents do not grasp scientific parenting methods, are excessively harsh on their children, do not understand how to empathize and respect their children. Psychoanalysts often tell patients that it is their parents’ “control” and “aggressiveness” that are too strong, leading to the child’s mental issues.
This analysis makes many depression patients feel enlightened:
“Previously, I thought it was all my fault, I was silly and foolish, always getting stuck. It turns out it’s not my problem, it’s my parents who have caused me to become like this!”
These patients believe they are simply victims, all the wrongs lie with their parents, and even endorse extreme statements like “parents are all harm,” and “children’s faults are all the adults’ fault.”
They no longer self-denying, their depressive episodes are alleviated, but they start blaming others, especially their family members, strongly resenting and blaming their parents. They might yell at their parents, lose their temper, or even physically attack them.
In this situation, patients’ conditions are actually worsening. If during a follow-up visit, a psychiatrist finds that a patient has become irritable and easily angry, there is a high probability of changing the diagnosis to bipolar disorder and adjusting medication dosage. In mainstream psychiatry, bipolar disorder is classified as a “severe mental disorder,” also known colloquially as a “severe mental illness,” which many patients’ parents struggle to accept.
Second, some psychoanalysts guide depression patients to learn some “defense mechanisms” to avoid falling into negative emotional states frequently, especially when facing bullying and suppression from others.
“Psychological defense mechanisms” is a core concept in psychoanalytic theory, initially proposed by Freud. Simply put, it means that individuals consciously or unconsciously use certain methods to prevent strong negative emotions such as anxiety and fear within themselves.
For example, psychoanalytic theory considers “repression” to be a common defense mechanism, believing that individuals suppress experiences that make them uncomfortable, anxious, downplaying them or avoiding touching or thinking about them.
There is also “substitution,” where psychoanalytic theory suggests that if a person faces gaslighting from a superior, dares not speak out at work, but vents their anger at family members after returning home, then this person is using the defense mechanism of “substitution.”
In addition to these, “rationalization” and “intellectualization” are also defense mechanisms in psychoanalytic theory.
“Rationalization” is easier to understand; simply put, when something unpleasant happens, individuals find reasons to explain it to themselves, making themselves feel better. To some extent, this is actually self-deception or turning a deaf ear to the truth.
Meanwhile, “intellectualization” means replacing emotions with rationality, not engaging emotionally with situations, handling them in a more “detached” manner to avoid feeling emotional discomfort.
When facing setbacks and troubles, individuals immediately think rationally about what happened, why it happened, what results it may lead to, and how to deal with it, rather than initially perceiving and expressing their emotions and feelings. Some psychoanalysts may refer to this behavior as “emotional isolation.”
It should be noted that the defense mechanism of “intellectualization” has certain positive significance. If one becomes overly emotional when facing situations and fails to consciously use reason to regulate emotions and feelings, and address problems in a timely manner, it may lead to further deterioration of the situation and a strong negative emotional state for the individual.
However, if “intellectualization” is overdone, deliberately avoiding and ignoring one’s emotions and feelings, it can easily lead to the inability to release negative emotions, continued accumulation, the formation of cumulative psychological traumas, and the individual’s lack of opportunities to actively face and regulate emotions.
Moreover, when explaining and using “intellectualization,” some psychoanalysts may inadvertently mislead patients, causing them to appear rational but actually blame all responsibility on others and the external environment, lacking self-reflection awareness and abilities.
For example, many depression patients who have faced unfair treatment and bullying may still be unable to escape these psychological shadows. Some psychoanalysts guide patients to learn “emotional isolation,” advising them not to overly feel the negative emotions brought by others, to treat those individuals as insignificant, and not to care about their opinions and judgments, saying, “These people are not important; you don’t need to pay attention to them.”
This kind of “psychological suggestion” may reduce patients’ self-denial and anger, but it can make them unaware of their shortcomings and problems, and even perceive reasonable advice and corrections from others as mere background noise, missing the chance to enhance their adversity intelligence in challenging situations.
Moreover, if individuals long-term ignore and isolate their emotions and feelings, it can easily lead to a lack of empathy, an inability to perceive or see others’ emotions and feelings, becoming “numb.”
Third, the psychoanalytic school has a relatively complete and extensive system, mainly able to justify itself and uses many professional terminologies that often make people feel “profound yet unclear.”
Many depression patients, after being exposed to the psychoanalytic school, develop a sense of admiration, even worship, becoming loyal fans of this field, and may even self-study the theories of the psychoanalytic school.
In this process, they believe they have gained a deep understanding of human psychological activity and laws, and when facing others, they can’t help but feel a sense of superiority, even thinking that many people are ignorant and foolish. These thoughts make them very narcissistic, self-centered, thereby overcoming their previous feelings of inferiority.
Even if they are disliked in life, others find them difficult to get along with, they don’t see any issue with themselves, and instead feel that others can’t reach their level, feeling unapproachable and misunderstood is normal for them.
02. Although the mood has improved, they have become modern versions of “Ah Q”
A person’s mental state of health cannot be judged solely by whether their emotions are positive.
Just like typical bipolar disorder patients during mania/hypomania episodes, their thoughts race, energy is high, they feel very good about themselves, extremely cheerful, even excited. But this is not a healthy state.
They easily overestimate their capabilities, overlook realistic difficulties, thus frequently bumping into challenges, setbacks, quickly transitioning to severe depressive episodes.
And for some depression patients who have undergone psychoanalysis, even though their mood has significantly improved, if they exhibit the irrational external attribution pattern mentioned above, it indicates they have not truly improved and recovered.
If they lack long-term self-reflection awareness and capabilities, empathy, it is easy for them to develop personality disorders. If they make efforts or for other reasons gain a certain amount of wealth, fame, and power, they easily become self-righteous, narcissistic, develop paranoid or narcissistic personality disorders, and may even reach the level of a personality disorder.
In reality, many people may not have undergone specific psychoanalysis but still exhibit symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder.
For example, the notorious “Yang Jiao Beast” – Yang Yongxin, has a typical NPD (narcissistic personality disorder). Many teenagers are shocked by him, begging loudly for mercy and appearing distressed, yet he can smile and justify it as “therapeutic,” incredibly cruel and lacking empathy!
Similarly, former U.S. President “Know-it-all” Trump also has a typical NPD (narcissistic personality disorder). And because of his success in business, achieving financial freedom, serving as the President of the United States, displaying bravery in the recent assassination attempt, his NPD (narcissistic personality disorder) continues to worsen.
Of course, because the influence of the psychoanalytic school is widespread, not only affecting psychology but also influencing philosophy, literature, film, and television. Were Yang Yongxin and Trump influenced by the psychoanalytic school in their lives? It is not known.
Furthermore, some depression patients or individuals with psychological issues, after encountering psychoanalytic theory, gradually turn into modern versions of “Ah Q,” resorting to the “victory in spirit” method to delude and numb themselves in the face of setbacks.
For example, when conflicting with others, they do not engage in rational comprehensive attribution, recognizing and improving their shortcomings but rather console themselves: “These people are fools, I’m not on the same level as them!”;
When making mistakes, and others point out their flaws and shortcomings, they never consider whether the criticisms are valid, instead feeling inwardly superior: “The summer insect cannot speak of ice, they are not on my level, they understand nothing! I don’t follow the normal path, this just proves I’m different from ordinary people!”
When being wronged outside but not daring to counterattack with evidence, they return home to vent their negative emotions to family members for emotional balance.
This approach makes them appear emotionally stable, and some may even view them as strong internally. However, the “victory in spirit” method cannot truly enrich their internal being, nor can it uplift them, lead to progress, success, and happiness.
From a certain perspective, they are evasion reality, locking themselves in their comfort zone, and over time, their cognition and abilities will only regress.
Of course, among the defensive mechanisms mentioned in the psychoanalytic school, there are relatively positive and constructive methods, such as sublimation.
The so-called “sublimation” refers to individuals expressing their inner pain through positive, rational means. For example, when bullied by others, we can transform the pressure into motivation, propel ourselves to study diligently, change our fate through knowledge, enhance our abilities, social status, and avoid being bullied. This is actually a manifestation of high adversity intelligence.
However, severely ill depression patients who have suffered a large number of cumulative psychological traumas and developed numerous negative cognitions may find it difficult to truly achieve “sublimation” when faced with setbacks and difficulties.
I hope everyone can clearly see why the psychoanalytic school can improve the emotions of depression patients and avoid being misled by appearances. Especially for the parents of depression patients, if considering taking children for psychological counseling/therapy, you should be cautious when it comes to the psychoanalytic school!
