Can past negative experiences lead to depression?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 30-year-old male who obtained a bachelor's degree in software engineering. My issue is that I often experience depression. Even minor failures trigger feelings of depression, and I am overly sensitive to small events. I perceive myself as having fewer mental skills than others. I consistently struggle to learn new skills and comprehend even simple concepts in my life.

Throughout my educational journey, I struggled to keep up in the classroom and had to work very hard to grasp the lecture material after class. One positive aspect is that my language processing skills are good, and I find it easy to learn new languages. However, I find it challenging to perform and learn other tasks. I am unable to learn by imitating others and always find it difficult to learn new games or create toys like paper boats or airplanes. I even struggle to learn how to tie complex knots with ropes.

Please help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I completely understand that you feel concerned about your lack of skills, which makes you disturbed and vulnerable to the fear of failure.

The probable causes may be depressive symptoms stemming from past negative experiences in life. I suggest you undergo IQ (intelligence quotient) and psychological assessments conducted by a clinical psychologist. This will be done using standardized tools, so you need to visit a nearby psychological clinic in your area.

For depressive symptoms, you need to engage in some of the exercises mentioned below:

Focus on your positive qualities and skills (e.g., linguistic abilities). You can leverage these positive attributes to advance in life, such as career choices, work nature, and social communication.
In response to every failure you encounter, write down an achievement. Create an achievement log and place it where you can see it daily, such as on your room's wall, mirror, or work desk. Refer to it daily. Reflecting on your life achievements can motivate you more than dwelling on past failures.
Establish a daily or weekly activity schedule that includes all your daily tasks and also incorporates leisure time or enjoyable activities, such as watching movies, listening to music, cooking your favorite recipe, wearing your favorite clothes or fragrance, going for a walk or exercising outdoors, or spending time with friends or family. It can be anything you enjoy doing.
Practicing the motivation and achievement log and activity schedule exercises will help keep your mood uplifted and pleasant.

Engage in these exercises daily and observe changes in your mood. If you feel better, you are making progress. For further guidance, consider seeking counseling or consultation from a psychologist to address life problems, depressive symptoms, and past failures. I appreciate that you consulted at the initial stage when depressive symptoms developed. Ignoring these symptoms or delaying treatment often results in the worsening of mental health conditions.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please schedule a follow-up if you feel the need.

Thank you.

Can past negative experiences lead to depression?

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