"I'm starting to develop depression that I never had before"... I'm exhausted from hearing these words in every conversation.

Depression and anxiety are two of the most common psychological disorders, and early detection and symptom assessment using everyday language are crucial. Research has shown that the frequency with which you use negatively evaluated words can reveal your psychological state.

A study published in the journal Cognition & Emotion found that frequently using negative words in everyday conversation was associated with worsening symptoms of depression and anxiety over time, regardless of mental health status.

 

Researchers at the University of Ska in Poland examined the use of positive and negative language in participants with clinically diagnosed depression and those without. The researchers surveyed 40 participants (22 women and 18 men) aged 22 to 44 who had recently experienced a major negative life event. Each participant was classified into a depressed or non-depressed group using the SCID-I diagnostic module.

We also measured the intensity of depressive and anxiety symptoms using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Participants recorded their descriptions of significant life events three times a year, with each session lasting approximately one hour. These sessions were spaced to correspond with key stages of emotional adjustment: the initial shock period (within two months of the event), the internal crisis period (approximately five months after the event), and the reconstruction stage (more than eight months after the event).

 

In each session, participants described their experiences. The descriptions were recorded, transcribed, and later analyzed for emotion using a Polish-specific emotion dictionary. The emotion analysis, which focused on the use of positive and negative words, allowed the researchers to track emotional changes over time and across participants with varying levels of depression and anxiety.

 

The study found that participants who used more negative words in their speech generally had higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, a trend evident in both clinically depressed and non-depressed groups. This association between negative word use and symptom severity was strong, suggesting that persistent use of negatively evaluative language may be indicative of more severe mental health problems. Conversely, positive language use was associated with slightly lower levels of depression and anxiety, but this association was weaker than that of negative language.

 

“Changes in the frequency of positive or negative word use over time did not correspond to changes in depression or anxiety symptoms,” the researchers explained. “This suggests that stable patterns of language use, rather than short-term fluctuations in word sentiment, may be a more reliable indicator of mental health status.”

 

“Our results suggest that negative language patterns can be used as a marker for assessing the severity of depression and anxiety,” said study author Dr. Izabela Kazmierczak.

 

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Negative thoughts, just using words

You may or may not have a phobia

So you think it exists??