Beyond words: Sensory properties of depressive thoughts

Steffen Moritz; Claudia Cecile Hörmann; Johanna Schröder; Thomas Berger; Gitta A. Jacob; Björn Meyer; Emily A. Holmes; Christina Späth; Martin Hautzinger; Wolfgang Lutz; Matthias Rose; Jan Philipp Klein

doi:10.1080/02699931.2013.868342

Beyond words: Sensory properties of depressive thoughts

Steffen Moritz^*, Claudia Cecile Hörmann, Johanna Schröder, Thomas Berger, Gitta A. Jacob, Björn Meyer, Emily A. Holmes, Christina Späth, Martin Hautzinger, Wolfgang Lutz, Matthias Rose, Jan Philipp Klein

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapie

44 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Verbal thoughts (such as negative cognitions) and sensory phenomena (such as visual mental imagery) are usually conceptualised as distinct mental experiences. The present study examined to what extent depressive thoughts are accompanied by sensory experiences and how this is associated with symptom severity, insight of illness and quality of life. A large sample of mildly to moderately depressed patients (N = 356) was recruited from multiple sources and asked about sensory properties of their depressive thoughts in an online study. Diagnostic status and symptom severity were established over a telephone interview with trained raters. Sensory properties of negative thoughts were reported by 56.5% of the sample (i.e., sensation in at least one sensory modality). The highest prevalence was seen for bodily (39.6%) followed by auditory (30.6%) and visual (27.2%) sensations. Patients reporting sensory properties of thoughts showed more severe psychopathological symptoms than those who did not. The degree of perceptuality was marginally associated with quality of life. The findings support the notion that depressive thoughts are not only verbal but commonly accompanied by sensory experiences. The perceptuality of depressive thoughts and the resulting sense of authenticity may contribute to the emotional impact and pervasiveness of such thoughts, making them difficult to dismiss for their holder.

Original language	English
Journal	Cognition and Emotion
Volume	28
Issue number	6
Pages (from-to)	1047-1056
Number of pages	10
ISSN	0269-9931
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2013.868342
Publication status	Published - 08.2014

Funding

Correspondence should be addressed to: Steffen Moritz, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Hamburg, Martimistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] Steffen Moritz and Claudia Cecile Hörmann equally contributed and share first authorship. Emily Holmes is supported by the Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) intramural programme [grant number MC-A060-5PR50], a Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellowship [grant number WT088217] and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre based at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford University [grant number REF A93182]. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was also provided by the UK Medical Research Council. The study was funded by the German Ministry of Health (BMG).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities

Research Areas and Centers

Academic Focus: Center for Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM)

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10.1080/02699931.2013.868342

Cite this

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title = "Beyond words: Sensory properties of depressive thoughts",

abstract = "Verbal thoughts (such as negative cognitions) and sensory phenomena (such as visual mental imagery) are usually conceptualised as distinct mental experiences. The present study examined to what extent depressive thoughts are accompanied by sensory experiences and how this is associated with symptom severity, insight of illness and quality of life. A large sample of mildly to moderately depressed patients (N = 356) was recruited from multiple sources and asked about sensory properties of their depressive thoughts in an online study. Diagnostic status and symptom severity were established over a telephone interview with trained raters. Sensory properties of negative thoughts were reported by 56.5\% of the sample (i.e., sensation in at least one sensory modality). The highest prevalence was seen for bodily (39.6\%) followed by auditory (30.6\%) and visual (27.2\%) sensations. Patients reporting sensory properties of thoughts showed more severe psychopathological symptoms than those who did not. The degree of perceptuality was marginally associated with quality of life. The findings support the notion that depressive thoughts are not only verbal but commonly accompanied by sensory experiences. The perceptuality of depressive thoughts and the resulting sense of authenticity may contribute to the emotional impact and pervasiveness of such thoughts, making them difficult to dismiss for their holder.",

author = "Steffen Moritz and H{\"o}rmann, \{Claudia Cecile\} and Johanna Schr{\"o}der and Thomas Berger and Jacob, \{Gitta A.\} and Bj{\"o}rn Meyer and Holmes, \{Emily A.\} and Christina Sp{\"a}th and Martin Hautzinger and Wolfgang Lutz and Matthias Rose and Klein, \{Jan Philipp\}",

note = "Funding Information: Correspondence should be addressed to: Steffen Moritz, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Hamburg, Martimistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] Steffen Moritz and Claudia Cecile H{\"o}rmann equally contributed and share first authorship. Emily Holmes is supported by the Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) intramural programme [grant number MC-A060-5PR50], a Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellowship [grant number WT088217] and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre based at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford University [grant number REF A93182]. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was also provided by the UK Medical Research Council. The study was funded by the German Ministry of Health (BMG). Copyright: Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2014",

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doi = "10.1080/02699931.2013.868342",

language = "English",

volume = "28",

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AU - Moritz, Steffen

AU - Hörmann, Claudia Cecile

AU - Schröder, Johanna

AU - Berger, Thomas

AU - Jacob, Gitta A.

AU - Meyer, Björn

AU - Holmes, Emily A.

AU - Späth, Christina

AU - Hautzinger, Martin

AU - Lutz, Wolfgang

AU - Rose, Matthias

AU - Klein, Jan Philipp

N1 - Funding Information: Correspondence should be addressed to: Steffen Moritz, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Hamburg, Martimistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. E-mail: [email protected] Steffen Moritz and Claudia Cecile Hörmann equally contributed and share first authorship. Emily Holmes is supported by the Medical Research Council (United Kingdom) intramural programme [grant number MC-A060-5PR50], a Wellcome Trust Clinical Fellowship [grant number WT088217] and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre based at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford University [grant number REF A93182]. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was also provided by the UK Medical Research Council. The study was funded by the German Ministry of Health (BMG). Copyright: Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2014/8

Y1 - 2014/8

N2 - Verbal thoughts (such as negative cognitions) and sensory phenomena (such as visual mental imagery) are usually conceptualised as distinct mental experiences. The present study examined to what extent depressive thoughts are accompanied by sensory experiences and how this is associated with symptom severity, insight of illness and quality of life. A large sample of mildly to moderately depressed patients (N = 356) was recruited from multiple sources and asked about sensory properties of their depressive thoughts in an online study. Diagnostic status and symptom severity were established over a telephone interview with trained raters. Sensory properties of negative thoughts were reported by 56.5% of the sample (i.e., sensation in at least one sensory modality). The highest prevalence was seen for bodily (39.6%) followed by auditory (30.6%) and visual (27.2%) sensations. Patients reporting sensory properties of thoughts showed more severe psychopathological symptoms than those who did not. The degree of perceptuality was marginally associated with quality of life. The findings support the notion that depressive thoughts are not only verbal but commonly accompanied by sensory experiences. The perceptuality of depressive thoughts and the resulting sense of authenticity may contribute to the emotional impact and pervasiveness of such thoughts, making them difficult to dismiss for their holder.

AB - Verbal thoughts (such as negative cognitions) and sensory phenomena (such as visual mental imagery) are usually conceptualised as distinct mental experiences. The present study examined to what extent depressive thoughts are accompanied by sensory experiences and how this is associated with symptom severity, insight of illness and quality of life. A large sample of mildly to moderately depressed patients (N = 356) was recruited from multiple sources and asked about sensory properties of their depressive thoughts in an online study. Diagnostic status and symptom severity were established over a telephone interview with trained raters. Sensory properties of negative thoughts were reported by 56.5% of the sample (i.e., sensation in at least one sensory modality). The highest prevalence was seen for bodily (39.6%) followed by auditory (30.6%) and visual (27.2%) sensations. Patients reporting sensory properties of thoughts showed more severe psychopathological symptoms than those who did not. The degree of perceptuality was marginally associated with quality of life. The findings support the notion that depressive thoughts are not only verbal but commonly accompanied by sensory experiences. The perceptuality of depressive thoughts and the resulting sense of authenticity may contribute to the emotional impact and pervasiveness of such thoughts, making them difficult to dismiss for their holder.

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DO - 10.1080/02699931.2013.868342

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JO - Cognition and Emotion

JF - Cognition and Emotion

IS - 6

ER -

Beyond words: Sensory properties of depressive thoughts

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Areas and Centers

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