Who is Depressed? Language is very fluid in that words come and go out of existence. Some words evolve or develop different meanings over time in order to adapt to society’s needs. The word “depressed” is an example of one of those words as its most common definition might not be the original or intended definition. A survey about the definition and associations of the word “depressed” was filled out by twenty individuals. These results were analyzed and compared to dictionary definitions. The objective of this was to analyze the way a word is understood by individuals and what they associate with it. This shows us generalizations made based on the word and why some of those generalizations were made.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary had various …show more content…
Some shapes are said to be concave or to have a “depressed” spot. The definitions that talk about standards, money, and employment, are the economical definitions. Both, the mathematical and economical definitions are not as popular or as common as the emotional definition. Out of the twenty surveys all agreed on the emotional definition, a state of sadness and unhappiness. Everyone agreed with the Oxford English and Cambridge Dictionary’s first definition of the word “depressed”. There is something similar about all of these definitions, they both refer to a low point, either in math, economic activity, or emotion. This shows us that all of the participants understood “depressed” as an emotionally low …show more content…
In some responses the terms “suicide” and “self-harm” were associated with “depressed”. Some of these responses might have been influenced by the experiences the individuals have had. Two of the people who said they found the word to have a negative connotation and also used the word suicide said that they had been “depressed” at one point in their lives. They had a personal experience with being “depressed” that they might have found as negative. They might have felt unappreciated and alone and might have even considered self-harm or committing suicide. I also found that they mostly considered “depressed” as a negative word because by their definition it means having “extreme sadness” and “a moment or period of time in which you reach your lowest point”. Out of twenty responses only one female said that it was neither positive or negative, the explanation to this was “it is simply a description of an emotional state”. Most of the participants thought about the psychological definition and how it pertained to their personal experiences. That participant had indicated that she had been “depressed” at some point in her life, but she gave an objective answer. She did not let her emotional experience get in her way of answering the
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary had various …show more content…
Some shapes are said to be concave or to have a “depressed” spot. The definitions that talk about standards, money, and employment, are the economical definitions. Both, the mathematical and economical definitions are not as popular or as common as the emotional definition. Out of the twenty surveys all agreed on the emotional definition, a state of sadness and unhappiness. Everyone agreed with the Oxford English and Cambridge Dictionary’s first definition of the word “depressed”. There is something similar about all of these definitions, they both refer to a low point, either in math, economic activity, or emotion. This shows us that all of the participants understood “depressed” as an emotionally low …show more content…
In some responses the terms “suicide” and “self-harm” were associated with “depressed”. Some of these responses might have been influenced by the experiences the individuals have had. Two of the people who said they found the word to have a negative connotation and also used the word suicide said that they had been “depressed” at one point in their lives. They had a personal experience with being “depressed” that they might have found as negative. They might have felt unappreciated and alone and might have even considered self-harm or committing suicide. I also found that they mostly considered “depressed” as a negative word because by their definition it means having “extreme sadness” and “a moment or period of time in which you reach your lowest point”. Out of twenty responses only one female said that it was neither positive or negative, the explanation to this was “it is simply a description of an emotional state”. Most of the participants thought about the psychological definition and how it pertained to their personal experiences. That participant had indicated that she had been “depressed” at some point in her life, but she gave an objective answer. She did not let her emotional experience get in her way of answering the