The conceptualized self and depressive symptoms
In a 2019 study, 200 university students (ages 19 - 32) from the University of Sargodha, in Pakistan, were surveyed regarding their experiences with the conceptualized self, , and depressive symptoms.
The study broke the conceptualized self down into three forces:
- Reassured-self. A positive sense of self that assures you in stressful times.
- Inadequate-self. A negative sense of self that claims you are not good enough, sub-par. Self-doubt.
- Hated-self. A deeply negative sense of self that claims you are undesirable, unlovable, and may wish some form of harm towards yourself.
This study revealed that students with "critical selves" (inadequate-self and/or hated-self) were more likely to be experiencing depressive symptoms, while students with a stronger sense of reassured-self were less likely.
Cognitive fusion is when we get lost in our own subjective reality, to the point where we see our own thoughts, judgements, perspectives, and beliefs as the truth. Reality becomes clouded over.
Cognitive fusion is a form of . Behavior becomes guided more by internal experiences than evaluation of the external world, long-term goals, or even personal values.
So What was the role of cognitive fusion?
Cognitive fusion was found to serve as a mediator between the conceptualized self and depressive symptoms.
Though the conceptualized self is only one perspective we may have of ourselves, it is one tied deeply to our internal experience (thoughts, feelings, perceptions, beliefs, and self-talk). When we have a negative sense of conceptualized self, we likely experience a lot of negative self-talk, which cognitive fusion frames as the objective truth. Perceptions and feelings become perceived-reality, which in turn build into or exacerbate depressive symptoms.
However, this study found that cognitive fusion seemed to suppress the reassured-self, rather than reinforce. Even for students with a positive view of themselves, the inflexibility of cognitive fusion contributed to depressive symptoms.
Those with a developed critical-self (inadequate-self, hated-self, or other negative relationship with the self) regulated their behavior based on internal experience. This is a display of cognitive fusion, which leads to more depressive symptoms.