Need for Positive Psychology Interventions in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder to Enhance Wellbeing

Depression is one of the common mental disorders affecting individuals and has been increasing in recent years. It contributes to increased burden and decreases the quality of life, wellbeing, and satisfaction from life. Studies have shown that a negative relationship exists between depression and wellbeing, but on a literature search, few studies from India could be found. The present study was done to assess the psychological wellbeing of patients with depression and to study the relationship between the severity of depression and psychological wellbeing. This study was conducted on patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Beck Depression Inventory-II and PGI General Wellbeing Scale were conducted to assess the severity of depression and well-being, respectively. Fifty-five patients with MDD were recruited into the study. Most patients were between 18 and 35 years of age (79.8%) and males (56.4%). The results show that the average wellbeing score was -0.205, indicating a low level of feeling of wellbeing. Further, there was a negative correlation between the severity of depression and wellbeing, which was significant at <0.001 level of significance. This study shows that with a decrease in depression, there is an increase in wellbeing. The therapies generally employed in depression focus more on the negative emotions and negative cognitions, but they should be more on positive emotions, wellbeing and strengths of the individual. Thus, positive psychology intervention will be more helpful in dealing with depression as its focus is mainly on enhancing wellbeing, happiness and satisfaction.