A new study suggests that depression can be beneficial because it makes people easily let go of impossible goals.

Researchers from the University of Jena examined the ability of both depressed and healthy individuals to let go of unattainable goals by giving them anagrams to solve within a given time. Anagrams are problems made of letters that need to be arranged to form a word. However, the participants were not aware that some problems cannot be solved and the study was being used to check how they can use their time effectively.

Like Us on Facebook

The result of the study revealed that depressed individuals spent less time on problems without solutions compared to the healthy ones. It was also observed that the duration of time spent by both groups on solvable problems was similar.

Professor Klaus Rothermund said that aiming at too many plans and ambitions can become a trap making "some people develop depression as a result of such futile efforts." However, in the new study, it was suggested that depression could open doors for new opportunities.

Rothermund and Psychology student Katharina Koppe said that depressed people have shown success in letting go of impossible goals compared to mentally-sound people. Koppe said, "the one who gives up wins."

The student explained that depression brings an adaptive function that enables an individual to disengage. "The general lack of motivation that is typical of many patients with depression apparently gives rise to a greater ability to abandon goals, and one could use this in therapy," Rothermund said.

The researchers hope that patients will stop seeing depression as a "psychological burden" through therapy. They noted that their findings highlight the strength of people suffering from the condition, which is the ability to adapt.

The authors added that further research on emotions and motivation should be conducted "to use patient's crisis as an opportunity for personal development."

The study was published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry.