The Longitudinal Diagram in Depression

Relevant History and Origin of Beliefs

To understand a specific individual's depression, the current picture is not enough; we need the whole picture.

The longitudinal diagram begins by exploring relevant history and early experiences.

We look for repetitive patterns in childhood or adolescence that may have sown the seeds of vulnerability.

An illustrative case would be someone who grew up with a bright older brother and parents who constantly made unfavorable comparisons.

Although there was no physical abuse, continued exposure to the message "you are not as good as he is" formed the basis for the core belief "I am inferior" or "I am not enough," which remained latent for years.

Precipitating Events and Schema Activation

Nuclear beliefs may remain dormant while life is going well, compensated by coping strategies (e.g., work perfectionism).

However, depression is often triggered by specific precipitating events that directly hit the subject's vulnerability.

In the example above, the person might have been functioning well until he/she was fired from a job or did not get an expected promotion.

This external event (the job rejection) acts as a key that unlocks the box of latent beliefs ("I am inferior"), triggering the pathology.

The therapist helps the patient connect how the current event is not the unique problem, but the activator of an old wound.

Interconnection of Symptoms in the Present

Finally, the diagram shows how, once the belief is activated, the current symptomatology unfolds on three levels that feed back into each other.

Cognitive: Thoughts of guilt and failure ("I ruined everything").

Physical/Emotional: Loss of energy, sleep disturbances, deep sadness, anhedonia.

Behavioral: Social isolation, abandonment of hobbies, passivity.

Visualizing this map allows the patient to understand their suffering not as random chaos or a character flaw, but as a logical sequence of cause and effect that can be intervened at specific points (behavior and thought) to reverse the process.

Here you have the complete development of Topic 8: Anxiety: Nature and Mechanisms, elaborated following the requested sub-item structure, with original examples and the corresponding references.

Summary

This diagram explores the patient's complete history to understand his or her depression. It identifies repetitive patterns and early childhood experiences that sowed the seeds of core beliefs of vulnerability or inferiority.

These latent beliefs are activated by specific precipitating events that strike at the subject's vulnerability. A rejection or failure acts as the key that detonates the pathology, connecting the present with past wounds.

Finally, it shows how the current symptomatology unfolds on interconnected cognitive, physical and behavioral levels. Visualizing this map allows the patient to understand his or her suffering as a logical causal sequence that can be intervened.