Joining social groups can reduce depression, revealed researchers from The University of Queensland.
Researchers Dr. Tegan Cruwys and Professor Alex Haslam and his team found that developing strong social relationships is essential in treating and preventing clinical depression.
"Clinical depression, which affects 6.2 percent of Australians in any given year and up to 20 percent of the population sometime in their life, is often preceded by social withdrawal," Dr. Cruwys said in a press release. "By joining a group, people are provided with exactly what they lack when they are depressed - a sense of belonging, a sense of meaning and purpose, and a source of social support."
Researchers recommended that participants at high risk of depression should join social and recreational groups like a sporting, sewing or art group. Other participants with depression took part in group therapy sessions at a local hospital.
Researchers interviewed participants of both of the groups three months later. According to professor Haslam, the results showed a stark difference in the outcomes of joining groups and attending therapy sessions. "For those who felt connected and part of a recreation group, less than one third were still depressed at the end of the study, whereas for those who did not identify with the group, more than half remained depressed," he said. "Our findings suggest that it does not necessarily matter what type of group you belong to, as long as you feel connected to it. The key to stopping depression is being part of the group and having the group be part of you."
Dr. Cruwys said that participating in social groups can, in fact, prove to be cost-effective and an individual would not feel stigmatized by receiving psychological help. Those partaking in groups can also be saved from the side-effects of anti-depressants.
The research was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders and Scientific American Mind.
