Eliot, R. S., Breo D. L., & Debakey M. E.
(1989).
Is It Worth Dying For?.
"Alarm and vigilance are triggered by different perceptions of events. Alarm can occur when you perceive a challenge to control; vigilance can occur when you feel a loss of control. Alarm provokes an active response, which may be felt as anger, aggression, or a heightened desire to act. Vigilance more often leads to a passive response and even, in extreme form in animals, to "playing dead." Vigilance may reflect self-doubt or a sense of failure or a feeling of invisible entrapment. Continued too long, it can translate into a common effect of stress—depression. (p. 33)"
Seligman, M. E. P.
(1992).
Learned Optimism.
"It's a disturbing idea, that depressed people see reality correctly while nondepressed people distort reality in a self-serving way. As a therapist I was trained to believe that it was my job to help depressed patients both to feel happier and to see the world more clearly. I was supposed to be the agent of happiness and of truth. But maybe truth and happiness antagonize each other. Perhaps what we have considered good therapy for a depressed patient merely nurtures benign illusions, making the patient think his world is better than it actually is." (p. 108)
Seligman, M. E. P.
(1994).
What You Can Change and What You Can't: The Complete Guide to Successful Self-Improvement.
"It is a disturbing idea that depressed people see reality correctly while nondepressed people distort reality in a self-serving way. As a therapist I was trained to believe that it is my job to help a depressed patient to feel both happier and see the world more clearly. I am supposed to be the agent of happiness as well as the agent of truth. But maybe truth and happiness antagonize each other. Perhaps what we have considered good therapy for a depressed patient merely nurtures benign illusions, making the patient think that her world is better than it actually is." (p. 199)