A surprising benefit of difficult childhood has been identifiedA new study by scientists has established a surprising connection between a difficult childhood and subsequent human development. Specialists have discovered that people who overcame difficult

Scientists have discovered: people after depression perceive stress more acutely, while a "difficult childhood" makes the psyche stronger

A team of psychologists from the University of North Carolina has discovered an interesting pattern: those who have recently experienced depression tend to dramatize stressful situations, while people with childhood hardship experiences react to problems more calmly. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Cognition and Emotion.

Researchers led by Ellie Cole developed 42 scenarios of various life situations – from minor academic setbacks to serious challenges like severe illness. Each scenario received an expert assessment on a six-point difficulty scale.

The experiment involved 237 students who evaluated how difficult it would be for them to experience the described situations. At the same time, participants were tested for stress vulnerability levels, presence of depressive symptoms over the past year, and hardships experienced in childhood.

Data analysis showed that although subjective assessments generally corresponded to the objective difficulty of situations, significant differences were observed between groups. Participants with severe depressive symptoms perceived all situations as more negative, with their reaction intensifying proportionally to the seriousness of the event – which may explain the "vicious circle" of depression.

In contrast, people with childhood hardship experiences demonstrated greater psychological resilience, perceiving even serious problems less dramatically. Scientists explain this as the "inoculation effect" – early trials can toughen the psyche, raising the threshold of stress sensitivity.

Researchers suggest that the tendency to exaggerate the severity of stressful situations may be one of the key factors maintaining a depressive state. A person perceives events as insurmountable, feels helpless, and avoids taking active steps, which ultimately exacerbates symptoms.

According to the authors, understanding such cognitive distortions can significantly increase the effectiveness of psychotherapy, especially in the cognitive-behavioral approach, where patients learn to reassess life's difficulties and develop more adaptive response strategies.