Depression and Mindfulness: Reclaiming the Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

This article explores the temporal disturbances experienced in depression and the potential effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in addressing these disturbances. Drawing upon a Husserlian framework, this article examines the three temporal phases of experience: retention, primal impression, and protention. These phases constitute the temporal fusion that allows us to perceive an event as a temporally extended event, encompassing the past, present, and future. In depression, the sense of anticipation and the belief in the potential for positive change are diminished, leading to a perception of the future as static and unchangeable, hence resembling the past. Depressed individuals also encounter disruptions in their experience of the past, as past thoughts resurface in consciousness at the present moment, further hindering the individuals’ ability to conceive of an open future where things could improve in meaningful ways. Mindfulness-based interventions offer a pathway for detachment from rumination and restoration of the perception of the present and future as contingent and filled with possibilities. By focusing on the present moment and cultivating awareness of experiences in each present “now,” individuals can experience the present as fused with the past and the future.