ipl-logo

Michael Yapko Secondhand Blues Analysis

464 Words2 Pages

Summary
Michael Yapko (2009), in his article “Secondhand Blues,” considers depression as a social condition, which then allows it to spread from depressed individuals and affect all of the important people in their life. Yapko’s main subjects within the article are depressed parents and the effect they have on their children, as well as depressed individuals and their partners or spouses. There are a few central themes through these subject groups, such as infectiously negative worldviews, self-blame or persecutory thinking, and feelings of hopelessness, as naturally common with depression.
Even from birth, parental depression can affect children. Yapko states “that the apathy and withdrawal of mothers who have postpartum depression show up in the baby's brain as …show more content…

They might feel trapped in their job, or hopeless in handling their responsibilities, or as if they are unable to succeed with their goals. Yapko elaborates, stating “[The depressed] are notoriously bad at engaging in reality testing, gathering information, and double-checking whether their thoughts or feelings actually make sense in the circumstances” (92). With this, Yapko solidifies his perspective on depression as a social disease.
Therefore, when Yapko discusses the effects of depression on relationships, he mentions divorce, destructive relationships, and isolation. As mentioned earlier, when considering how depression gives reason for people to victimize themselves, Yapko agrees with “[Victimized people] don't know how to set and keep clear boundaries about each other's emotions or how to deal with each other in respectful ways when the going gets tough” (92). This creates an unhealthy and unbalanced foundation for a relationship between two

Open Document