Effexor users might benefit from help with goal-setting

Doctor-prescribed depression medication like Effexor can help people manage major depressive disorder. This is important because recent research has shed light on yet another issue that those with depression face.

According to a new study by researchers at the University of Liverpool, depressed people are more likely to set vague goals than non-depressed individuals. In the study, participants were asked to make a list of goals they hope to accomplish in the near future. The researchers then analyzed their desired achievements for differences and found that those without depression were much more specific, writing things like "I hope to improve my 5k running time to under 19 minutes this fall," while depressed people were more likely to write things like "I want to find ways to be happy."

Researchers said that this is problematic because low-specificity goals can be difficult to visualize and can add to negative feelings, making it even more difficult for those with depression to make a change or see an improved future.

"Helping depressed people set specific goals and generate specific reasons for goal achievement may increase their chances of realizing them which could break the cycle of negativity which is coupled with depression," said Dr. Joanne Dickson, a psychologist and the lead researcher of this study.

Other evidence
While this research is interesting and hopefully offers insight to those working with depressed individuals to assist them in setting clearer goals, this isn't the first study that has focused on depression and goal-setting.

Another study, conducted by psychologists at the State University of New York, Buffalo, and published in the March 2011 edition of Cognition & Emotion found that depressed individuals did not differ in their number of desired achievements, commitment to them and planning. However, similar to the above study, they did differ on the types of goals they set. Depressed individuals were more likely to set avoidance goals, in which the objective is to prove that you are not incompetent, as opposed to trying to accomplish competence and to improve or show you can do as well as or better than others.

Avoidance goals are troublesome because they often heighten anxiety and lower self-esteem. Both of these studies show that counselors and others supporting depressed individuals should work on helping people develop focused and performance or mastery-based goals to aid in their recovery from depression.