reveal clear and consistent differences in language between those with and without symptoms of depression .
Content
Language can be separated into two components : content and style . The content relates to what we express – that is , the meaning or subject matter of statements . It will surprise no one to learn that those with symptoms of depression use an excessive amount of words conveying negative emotions , specifically negative adjectives and adverbs – such as “ lonely ”, “ sad ” or “ miserable ”.
More interesting is the use of pronouns . Those with symptoms of depression use significantly more first person singular pronouns – such as “ me ”, “ myself ” and “ I ” – and significantly fewer second and third person pronouns – such as “ they ”, “ them ” or “ she ”. This pattern of pronoun use suggests people with depression are more focused on themselves , and less connected with others . Researchers have reported that pronouns are actually
more reliable in identifying depression than negative emotion words .
Negative words and first person pronouns can give a clue .
hikrcn / Shutterstock We know that rumination ( dwelling on personal problems ) and social isolation are common features of depression . However , we don ’ t know whether these findings reflect differences in attention or thinking style . Does depression cause people to focus on themselves , or do people who focus on themselves get symptoms of depression ?
Style
The style of language relates to how we express ourselves , rather than the content we express . Our lab recently conducted a big data text analysis of 64 different online mental health forums , examining over 6,400 members . “
Absolutist words ” – which convey absolute magnitudes or probabilities , such as “ always ”, “ nothing ” or “ completely ” – were found to be better markers for mental health forums than either pronouns or negative emotion words .
From the outset , we predicted that those with depression will have a more black and white view of the world , and that this would manifest in their style of language . Compared to 19 different control forums ( for example ,
Mumsnet and
StudentRoom ), the prevalence of absolutist words is approximately 50 %