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Psychology and psychiatry are in a constant search for an adequate model of affective disorders. Psychology has classified depression as a mood disorder, but a growing literature links mental disorders with socioculturally relevant ways in which people experience and express distress. With this study, we link depression with proverbs as omnipresent narrative structures and mini-theories that help people interpret reality and categorize personal experience. Proverbs are omnipresent narrative structures that describe, explain, and prescribe human behavior. Hence, we offer a paremiological approach to better understand the minds of the depressed. Our tenet is that proverbs may also reflect people's mental states and attitudes by conveying different levels of optimism versus pessimism. We evidence empirically that proverbs convey optimistic and pessimistic attitudes and, thus, have the capacity to capture peoples' mental states. Moreover, we show that this capacity is limited for people with high depressiveness. Finally, we discuss how proverbial thinking links collective experience and wisdom imprinted in proverbs with an individual's mental states, which has important research and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We agree with Held's (2020) arguments for establishing a research practice that prevents numerous forms of othering in mainstream psychological research, which is essentially derived from omitting concepts embedded in the lived experience of the other. However, we believe those arguments are not yet sufficient for fulfilling the true potential of such research practice. In this discussion, we focus on accessing a lived experience of the other as a means of preventing epistemic violence that contributes to the oppression of othered people. We suggest that researchers broaden their psychological perspective that detaches concepts and theories from personal experience. To truly meet the other, the narrative approach offers promising potential, as it captures an individual's lived experience and subjective perspective. Finally, we stress the pivotal role of social interaction in concept and folk theory formation, which is necessary to implement Held's postulations for Indigenous psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]