I’ve never enjoyed bouts of depression. If you’ve been depressed, you know how painful it can be. It’s probably hard to imagine any good coming from the low mood and motivation, feelings of worthlessness, and other punishing symptoms.

Medicalizing low bouts of mood as "pathological" suggests that depression is only a problem, like influenza. From this perspective, depression is no more meaningful than the flu. The only right response is to treat the symptoms, often with medication.

But we can step back from equating depression with a mental health disorder and ask an intriguing question: What might we learn from depression?

This is not to say that every depressive episode has existential relevance or even a psychological or behavioral origin. Some depression is the direct result of an illness, a medication, or an unknown physiological cause. But when you’re overtaken by depression, it may be worth asking what it could be pointing to. Several lines of evidence suggest that being depressed could serve a purpose.

You need a mix of work and play to feel your best. All work and no play leads to high stress and chronic seriousness; all play and no work leaves you adrift and starved for a sense of purpose.

Many studies have shown that doing enjoyable and important activities can be a powerful antidote to depression—at least as effective as antidepressant medication on average, and often more protective against future depression. These findings underscore that depression at times is a signal that you need more rewarding things in your life and the right balance of rewards.

Try this: Take stock of whether your days are filled with enough sources of enjoyment and accomplishment. If either is lacking, aim to add one rewarding activity over the coming week.

Evolutionary psychologists propose that depression may have been........

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