Practicing the Ideal Depressed Self: Young Professional Women’s Accounts of Managing Depression

Abstract

This article is based on a qualitative investigation of contemporary female subjectivities at the intersection of two particular identities: being a “young professional woman” and “depressed.” Thirteen women working in both private and public sector roles in two major cities in Aotearoa New Zealand participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Employing a practice-based approach to analysis, my aim was to explore whether participants’ accounts are inflected by what cultural scholars call the “top girl” or “can-do girl” ideal and the implications for “recovering” from depression. I identified five identity practices which constitute the subject position of the “ideal depressed self” who (a) delivers no matter what, (b) puts on a brave face (particularly at work), (c) treats her depression medically, (d) looks after herself, and (e) works toward becoming more positive. A discussion of the discursive underpinnings, in particular, neoliberal and postfeminist rhetoric, highlights the harmful effects of this individualizing perspective.

Representations of mental health and mental health problems in content published by female social media influencers

“…She begins another video by exclaiming ‘today, I will defy my depression all day!’ and dedicates the entire video to checking off items on her to-do list (LS 18). In her article about young, high-achieving professional women's accounts of managing depression, Chowdhury (2020) concludes that the ideal depressed self, as represented by these women, puts on a brave face and delivers; no matter what. Loreley's exclamation that she will defy her depression all day can be said to combine the two ideals to work on oneself and to deliver no matter what.…”

The affective-discursive ‘pruning’ of neoliberal selves: introducing the notion of self-othering

“…The focus of participants' accounts lies on constructing a resilient 'I', capable of controlling her distress and maintaining high productivity levels, by narrating depression as something unreasonable. Similarly, my analysis of the 'ideal depressed self' (Chowdhury 2020) the women feel pressured to aspire to via active self-management evidences that their self-making activities are shaped in reference to the ideal neoliberal subject as a positive, autonomous and responsible person.…”

“…Constantly chasing what many critics deem an unachievable ideal produces innumerable 'failing subjects' (Walkerdine 2003, p. 241) propelled by the fear of being left behind in a relentlessly competitive market (Brunila and Valero 2018). While the ability to hide one's injuries and distress has variously been described as a core feature of the ideal neoliberal subject (Chowdhury 2020;Gill 2009;Scharff 2016), recent work purports that weaknesses and emotional struggles can be avowed but only if coupled with the active effort to become more resilient (Gill and Donaghue 2016;Joseph, 2013). Negative feelings and distress thus become something that needs to be overcome and 'survived' (Orgad 2009) by way of self-management and self-development.…”

(Re)Made in America: Survivorship after the Shoah

“…The prevalence of this appraisal of victimhood, and the concomitant suspicion that being a victim is primarily a matter of ‘feeling’, signifies the culmination of a neoliberal sensibility; not only in terms of the retreat from making public demands and engaging in collective action, but also in terms of individuals adopting the affective dispositions and personal qualities necessitated by entrepreneurial subjectivity. When human vulnerability is refused or denied, adversity becomes not a moment for recognition, restitution or care, but instead an occasion to further hone various forms of self-management and self-optimization such as positivity, ‘bouncebackability’, and ‘recoverability’, (Chowdhury, 2020; Gill and Orgad, 2018).…”