The difficult childhood was found to have an unexpected benefit## Translation of Plain Text Content into English

People who have recently experienced depression tend to perceive stressful situations as more severe, whereas those who faced life difficulties in childhood evaluate them less dramatically. This conclusion was reached by psychologists from the University of North Carolina. The study is published in the journal Cognition and Emotion.

The team led by Ellie Cole created 42 short scenarios describing everyday and serious life difficulties - from academic failures and conflicts with friends to illness or loss. Each episode was pre-evaluated by experts on a scale from 1 to 6 based on severity.

The study involved 237 students. After reading each scenario, they gave their own rating - how difficult it would be for them to experience a similar situation. In parallel, participants completed questionnaires determining their level of vulnerability to stress, depressive symptoms over the past year, and life difficulties experienced in childhood.

Overall, subjective assessments coincided with the "objective" complexity of events. However, the differences between groups were revealing. People with severe depressive symptoms rated all situations as more negative. The higher the severity of the event, the stronger they reacted. This indicates increased sensitivity to stress, which may contribute to the persistence of depression.

Those who experienced difficulties in childhood, in contrast, evaluated even serious situations more calmly. Scientists associate this with the inoculation effect - when early trials strengthen the psyche and reduce susceptibility to stress.

Researchers suggest that an overestimation of stress may be one of the mechanisms that sustain depression: a person perceives events as excessively severe, feels helpless, and withdraws from action, which only intensifies symptoms.

Understanding these cognitive distortions, the authors note, can help psychotherapy - for example, in the cognitive-behavioral approach, where the patient learns to reinterpret life's difficulties in a new way.