Depression: Remembering happy times can help to build teenagers’ resilience

Depression is now the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting more than 300 million people.

The condition often appears for the first time during the teenage years, when youngsters experience changes in their brain structure and chemistry. Early life stress, such as illness, adverse family circumstances, parents’ separation or bereavement, are known to be risk factors.

People often reminisce about the past to lift their mood when they are feeling sad so academics from the University of Cambridge and University College London decided to examine whether remembering positive experiences could help to protect young people against stress in adolescence.

The team analysed data from nearly 430 young people from Cambridge and the surrounding area. Their average age was 14 and all of them were considered to be at risk of depression.