Article.
Олена Карпіна
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LINGUO-PSYCHOLOGICAL
MODEL OF DEPRESSIVE PERSONALITY
Зроблено спробу лінгвістичної
інтерпретації психологічного змісту депресії на лексикографічному рівні з метою
з’ясування подібностей і розбіжностей між психологічним трактуванням цього
стану та його мовним наповненням у тлумачних словниках сучасної англійської
мови. Розмежовано поняття депресивна акцентуація й депресивний стан, а також
виявлено відповідні семантичні компоненти
в структурі
словникових дефініцій.
Ключові слова: афект,
депресивний стан, депресивна акцентуація, депресивна особистість, емоційний
стан, сема, семантичний компонент,
словникова дефініція.
Fundamental changes in the domain of XXIst c.
linguistics led to the shift of the research vector from the language to its
bearer. It involves the achievements of other sciences, introducing new terms
and notions to characterize the language and its functioning (Kubriakova 4).
Speech activity is complex in its structure, being subject to different factors
and motives that arise from the human being, outlining the range of dependent
phenomena.
The relevance of the research is justified by
the increased interest in the emotional states the individual is in, their
consequences and influence on the process of communication. Recently, much
research has been conducted in the field of linguistics of emotions. Scientific
investigations of O. Ye. Filimonova, Yu. Kristeva, V. I. Shakhovskii, H. I.
Kharkevych, O. Borisov, E. L. Nosenko, N. P. Kyseliuk, N. A. Melnychuk, Ya. Bondarenko,
L. Koziarevych and others are devoted to the study of emotional states.
The article is aimed at the defining the degree of correlation
between the psychological model of a depressed state and its linguistic
content, listed in the definitions of modern English dictionaries.
The theoretical basis of the research is made
up by the investigations of H. Kharkevych, P. Kutter, N. McWilliams, K. Leonhard, A. M. Sprints, P. Gannushkin, E. V. Geisler, et al.
The structure of the personality consists of
the individual type, the kind of primal trauma and the way of response to stressful
situations (Geisler). Depressive characterological constitution is singled out
in a separate individual type by many authors (McWilliams, Leonhard, Kutter).
According to K. Leonhard, if the character traits assume an excessive
distinctiveness, such manifestations can be considered as accentuation. At this
stage of development it does not occur as pathology and can find a positive
application, contributing to personal development (Leonhard 6). Despite the
internal conflict, depressed people provoke general admiration and esteem. They
are usually generous, sensitive and patient to other people’s drawbacks. People
with the depressive dynamics are endowed with a great and sincere ability to
love and self-sacrificing attitude (McWilliams).
Thus, people whose individual type is defined
as depressive (dysthymic in K. Leonhard’s typology) tend to experience negative
emotions to a greater extent than positive ones. They are able to focus on
negative events that contribute to re-experiencing grief. Depressive individuals
are marked by an excessive response to minimal external stimuli, subject to
sharp changes in sentiment (Geisler). Caused by early frustrations, this type
of personality is distinguished by specific emotional manifestations and an
extensive symptomatology revealed in physiological disturbances and behavioural
reactions.
Considering the type of accentuation, we
should differentiate between the depressive personality itself, and the
individual in the depressed state. When the character traits turn into painful
symptoms, it signalises about the depressed state, which, depending on the
type, differs in intensity of the devastating consequences (McWilliams). Since
the depressive character traits predetermine the emergence of the depressed
state, in the given study, we will apply the term depressive personality (hereinafter ‒ DP) with regard to both: an
individual in depression (who does not necessarily belong to the depressive
type, but is only subject to unfavourable circumstances) and a representative
of the depressive individual type.
In order to find out the degree of
correlation between DP modelled by psychologists, and DP whose emotional and
behavioural manifestations are verbalized in the domain of English vocabulary,
we have compared the lexical representation of depression in contemporary
English dictionaries with the psychological content of this state. In our
research we analysed the dictionary definitions of the lexeme depression listed in six dictionaries
that are characterised by the high level of informative value: Collins English Dictionary (CED), Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (CALD), English Oxford Living Dictionary (EOLD),
Longman Dictionary of
Contemporary English (LDCE), Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (MWCD),
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD).
At this stage of the study we have pointed
out common features and certain differences between psychological and
linguistic content of DP. The destructive effect of traumatic factors arouses
emotional reactions varying in duration and intensity, which in terms of
psychology are known as affects
(Geisler, Mc Williams, et al.). The psychologists particularize guilt and sadness as primary emotional manifestations of depression. The
specificity of guilt lies in its ability to transform from the psychogenetic
factor ‒ the real fault of the DP for the wrongdoing, into a long-lasting
effect of “guilt feeling” ‒ the subconscious conviction in their own
imperfection, which results in social rejection.
1. Guilt
is an unhappy feeling that you have
because you have done something wrong or think that you have done something
wrong.
2. Guilt is the fact that you have
done something wrong or illegal (CED).
The guilt of DP is boundless (McWilliams). It
leads to an extreme self-depreciation: they identify themselves incapable of
anything, deserving of nothing but reproach and moral condemnation. Depressive
people often overcome their unconscious dynamics by providing a philanthropic
activity that enables them to withstand their guilt. Many individuals with the
depressive characterological constitution restore the sense of self-esteem and
avoid depressive episodes by doing good.
However, being transferred onto the semantics
of contemporary English, the affect of “guilt feeling” partially loses its
significance: the semantic component guilt
has a limited representation in dictionary definitions of the lexeme depression, being listed only in one out
of six dictionaries:
Depression
is a mental condition characterized by feelings of severe despondency and
dejection, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of
appetite and sleep (EOLD).
According to I. A. Sternin, semantic
components put at the beginning of the definition are of particular importance
(Sternin 9). Sharing this linguistic assumption, we can refer the lexeme guilt to the periphery of the semantic
space of the notion depression. The
validity of this decision is confirmed by the results of the inventory of the
nouns forming the lexico-semantic group depression:
the lexeme guilt does not demonstrate
synonymic relations with the lexeme depression
in the analysed thesauri (Karpina).
A clear representation of the close
correlation between the psychological diagnostics of DP and the semantic
components, included in the dictionary definitions, is demonstrated by the
components of meaning united by the seme sadness.
Sadness is so obvious in the emotional experience of a person suffering from
depression that these words (i. e. sadness and depression) often appear as synonyms (McWilliams). Sadness is an
integral part of the semantic structure of the lexeme depression in all analysed dictionary definitions presented not
only lexically, as a lexeme sadness
and its derivatives, but also at the level of semantics, interpreting such
lexemes as dejection, despondency, unhappiness etc.:
Depression is a mental state in
which you are sad and feel that you
cannot enjoy anything, because your situation is so difficult and unpleasant (CED).
Unhappiness is
the feeling of not being happy; sadness (EOLD).
The affective sphere of the depressed state
also includes anxiety, ranging from
mild inner tension to panic (Sprints 88-89). The semantic reflection of this emotional
state is manifested in the lexemes united by the seme anxiety:
Depression is a medical
condition that makes you very unhappy and anxious
and often prevents you from living a normal life (LDCE).
The anxiety of DP is associated with the
sense of inevitable disaster, an ambiguous menace expecting for them in future.
It is verified both at the level of the semantics of the lexeme anxiety and in the components
incorporated in the semantic structure of the lexeme despondency:
Despondency ‒
low spirits from loss of hope or courage;
dejection (EOLD).
Physiological disorders of individuals in the
state of depression are represented by the semantic components which denote
such depressive symptoms as sleep and
appetite disorders: disturbance of
appetite and sleep (EOLD), increase
or decrease of appetite and sleep (MWCD); being unable to sleep (OALD).
Apathy, poor working capacity, inability to
concentrate thoughts are also the signs related to a person in the state of
depression. This considerable mental and physical fatigability, the inability
to focus on the usual work was called asthenia
(Sprints 89). The essence of asthenia is revealed in the following semantic
components: inactivity (MWCD), difficulty in thinking and concentration
(MWCD), inability to concentrate
(CED), lack of energy (EOLD) etc.
The functional disturbance of depressed
individuals is also reflected in the lexical units that convey the inability to
live and enjoy life, as well as the semantic components with uncertain semantic
content inadequacy:
Depression is a mental
condition characterized by feelings of severe despondency and dejection,
usually also with feelings of inadequacy
and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbances in appetite and
sleep (EOLD).
Depression
is a mental illness in which a person is very unhappy and anxious (= worried
and nervous) for long periods and cannot
have a normal life during these periods (CALD).
The notion of reactivity of depression
includes external and internal factors that caused the corresponding condition.
In general, depression is considered one of the most common reactive states
(Gannushkin). Although only a neurotic type of depression is assumed as
situational, psychotic depression involves the preoccupation of DP with an
early stage of child development when some frustration (loss) probably took
place (oral stage). This specific idea has no clear correspondence in the
semantic space of the depressive complex. However, we can trace the causality
related to the current depressing situation and the lack of hope for its
improvement:
Depression is a mental state in
which you are sad and feel that you cannot enjoy anything, because your situation is so difficult and unpleasant (CED).
Depression is the state of
feeling very unhappy and without hope
for the future
(CALD).
It should be noted that some semantic
components of the definitions of depression demonstrate the causality being
filtered through the corresponding dictionary definitions:
Dejection is a feeling of
sadness that you get, for example, when
you have just been disappointed by something (CED).
The course of depression may be distinguished
by latent affective symptoms. The essence of this phenomenon lies in the
masking of the actual depressive symptoms under the general somatic complaints,
being not confirmed in actual fact (Sprints 89-90). This type of depression,
which is also called masked, differs
from its standard version: anxiety and internal desolation provoke anger that
seeks for an outward expression. Such a personality may be disposed towards
verbal and non-verbal aggression: they may have a desire to shout at someone or
to break something. The essence of this phenomenon is demonstrated in the
semantic component psychoneurotic declared
in one of the dictionaries, according to which depression is classified as a
type of neuroses caused by suppression of emotional states revealed in hidden
forms or symptoms:
Depression is a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder
characterized by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration,
a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping,
feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies (MWCD).
Psychoneurosis
neurosis is based on an emotional conflict in which an impulse that has been
blocked seeks expression in a disguised
response or symptom
(MWCD).
Psychotic depression is characterized by
intensity and duration of symptoms. The destructive state of mind transforms
into intolerable depressive pain and leads to a conscious desire to commit
suicide taking the form of an obsessive longing for death (depressia.info. Web. 22 March 2018.). This extreme manifestation of the depressed state
is often called an act of self-aggression being embodied in the component of
meaning suicidal tendencies. Thus, it
was suggested only in a single dictionary.
The phase character of depression, its
longness and intensity are reflected in the semantic components long periods, greater and more prolonged, severe
etc.:
Depression is a mental illness
in which a person is very unhappy and anxious (= worried and nervous) for long periods and cannot have a
normal life during these periods (CALD).
We should pay attention to the fact that not
all the points declared in psychological sources have consistent
correspondences in the lexical system of English. This can be explained by the
fact that no lexical unit, including depression,
is able to render the symbiosis of emotional states and the variety of signs
and causes that constitute the depression complex. Thus, the lexico-semantic
analysis of the lexeme depression and
the lexemes used for its interpretation has not reflected the mechanisms of
protection of DP such as introjection
and encapsulation. McWilliams defines
introjection as a subconscious
internalization of the most hated qualities of the lost objects of love. Encapsulation is the alienation in order
to preserve self-esteem (Kutter).
In conclusion, the involvement of the results
of psychological research demonstrates a partial-complete compliance at the
linguistic level which made it possible to construct a linguo-psychological
model of DP (Scheme1). The preconditions of the depressed state are determined
by the type of individual defined as depressive
accentuation. The individuals belonging to this type are inclined to
experience negative emotions such as sadness, guilt, anxiety, despondency,
dejection etc. The depressive accentuation is associated with the idea of reactivity that implies an extensive
individual reaction to minimal external distractions. The latter may possibly
vary in time: DPs are not satisfied with current situation, they may also be
disturbed by the negative events of the past. The reactivity of the depressive
individuals is also marked by hopelessness concerning the doubtful improvement
of the life circumstances. According to H. Kharkevych,
any emotional state may be represented by physiological, mental-psychic and
behavioural manifestations (Kharkevych). In case of depression we deal with a
wide-range complex of emotional states among which the emotional state of
sadness and related to it emotional states of despondency and dejection form
the basis of the whole complex. It is confirmed by the semantic components
suggested by all the analysed dictionaries. As for the physiological manifestations they are mostly related to the
disturbances of sleep and appetite. Mental-psychic
manifestations explain the essence of the notion asthenia, which involves a broad mental weariness and inhibition of
thought and concentration. And, finally, behavioural manifestations demonstrate
the outward expression of the depressive behaviour which is disclosed by means
of semantic components inadequacy,
inability to live normal way, and suicidal
tendencies. Scheme
1
Linguo-Psychological Model of Depressive Personality
References.
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Shatova, E. P., and
Filippova, Y.
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List
of Sources
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Web. 22 March 2018. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/. Collins English
Dictionary. Complete & Unabridged
10th Edition. Web. 22 March 2018 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/
depressia.info. Web. 22 March 2018. http://depressia.info/
English Oxford
Living Dictionary Web. 22 March 2018:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. 3d edition with new words supplement.
Edinburgh Gate, Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2005. Print.
Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Merriam Webster, Inc, 11th edition, 2003.
Print.
List of Abbreviations
CALD ‒ Cambridge
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
CED ‒ Collins
English Dictionary
DP ‒ Depressive
Personality
EOLD ‒ English
Oxford Living Dictionary
LDCE ‒ Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
MWCD ‒Merriam-Webster
Collegiate Dictionary
OALD ‒ Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
Надійшла
до редакції 25 березня 2018 року.
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