INTRODUCTION:

Psychological distress is a blanket term that is used to describe any unpleasant emotions that affect our day to day functioning. The causes vary from individual to individual so do the ways of dealing with them. This study focuses on understanding the life experiences and psychological distress. Mental illnesses are considered to be the manifestation of the psychological distress. Psychological distress can affect an individual’s day to day functioning. In the current study, psychological distress has three sub categories under it- depression, anxiety and stress.

Depression cannot be called merely sadness. Depression can make an individual crippled making that person mentally and physically exhausted.

Emotions are not linear in nature and hence it cannot be said that an individual fighting depression would not have any positive feelings at all. There are moments of happiness and positivity every now and then however it is difficult for the person to remain in the positive state of mind for a long period of time.

Anxiety is more than fear. It is the worry about the unknown. Fear is considered as a natural emotional response to a threat whereas anxiety is the anticipation of a threat that could arise in future. Individuals who show symptoms of anxiety tend to find situations to be threatening which to majority of other people would not fid to be threatening. Severe anxiety can hamper the functioning of an individual. At a cognitive level, a person with anxiety will be constantly going through negative and unpleasant emotions worrying about future threat that is much more intense than fear. Additionally, at a physiological level, the individual will be hyper aroused and would go through symptoms like heart palpitation, excessive sweating, shortness of breath etc. and at a behavioural level, individual with anxiety will constantly try avoiding situations which they find threatening.

Life is dynamic and the physical response to such change that individuals have to through can be called stress. ‘Stress’ as a psychological concept was introduced by Hans Selye as cited by Kennard, (2008) When individuals are unable to meet the adjustable demands of the environment, they tend to go through stress. Stress is basically the outcome of poor coping mechanism that an individual uses to come in terms with the adjustmental demands of the environment. Though to some extend stress is considered to help us to improve our performance, it becomes a concern when stress starts negatively affecting our emotional and physical wellbeing.

It is commonly said that our past will have a ripple effect on our present. An individual’s past experiences might have an influence on his/her current belief system. If majority of the experiences have been negative in an individual’s life, there could be a possibility of the person experiencing low self-esteem and confidence. Experiencing trauma in childhood increases the vulnerability towards psychological illnesses as the person might carry the unresolved issue and the unpleasant emotions related to it to his/her adulthood, risking further trauma. When individuals go through several life changes, whether positive or negative, it does place new demands on them which can be challenging in nature and this inturn could have an effect on their emotional wellbeing.

The review of literature shows that negative life experiences have a positive relationship with psychological concerns such as depression, anxiety and stress. It was also observed that individuals tend to go through unpleasant experiences repeatedly, it lead to emotional concerns. However it was noticed that majority of such studies were conducted on adolescents and on elder population. Also not many studies focused on understanding the difference in life experiences among individuals with various level of severity psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress).

The current study focuses on understanding the psychologically distressed with three sub scales- depressed, anxious and stressed screened with mild, moderate and severe categories with regard to their life experiences.

METHODOLOGY:

Sample of the present investigation comprised of 60 non clinical samples (adults) - 30 men and 30 women- were screened for psychological distress, based on DASS 21 (Lovibond S.H and Lovibond P.F, 1995). Individuals with mild, moderate and severe depression, anxiety and stress were screened. Purposive sampling method was used for the study to get accurate results in a short span of time.

HYPOTHESES:

H1. There is no significant difference between mild, moderate and severely depressed adults in life experiences.

H2. There is no significant difference between mild, moderate and severely anxious adults in life experiences.

H3. There is no significant difference between mild, moderate and severely stressed adults in life experiences.

H4. There is no significant gender difference in life experiences and psychological distress.

PROCEDURE:

Phase I: Screening:

The Questionnaire- DASS 21 was given to sample to screen them with mild, moderate and severe depression, anxiety and stress, further which they were included for the study.

Phase II: Assessment:

The psychological variables like Positive and negative experiences, were measured. The researcher ensured that all the statements were answered by the sample. Scoring of responses was made to understand the existing association between these variables. The data was subjected to quantitative analysis and then coded for computer analysis and analysed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 23 version). Analysis of data included non-parametric statistical test non-normal variable. Kruskal Wallis H test was used to measure the difference between mild, moderate and severely distressed in life experiences. Mann Whitney U test was used to understand gender difference in life experiences.

TECHNIQUES OF ASSESSMENT:

DASS 21- Depression Anxiety Stress Scale- 21 (Lovibond S.H and Lovibond P.F, 1995):

DASS 21 is a test that is widely used for the measurement of psychological distress and its symptoms (Alfonsson, Wallin, and Maathz, 2017). In the present study, DASS 21 was used to screen individuals with psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress). The DASS-21 is a 21-item self-report instrument scored on a four point scale designed to measure the three related negative emotional states were depression, anxiety and stress. The Depression scale assesses dysphoria, hopelessness, devaluation of life, self-deprecation, and lack of interest, anhedonia, and inertia. Anxiety scale identifies autonomic arousal, skeletal muscle effects, situational anxiety and subjective experience of anxious affect. Stress scale is sensitive to levels of chronic non-specific arousal. It assesses difficulty in relaxing, nervous arousal, being easily agitated, irritable or impatience. Internal consistency and the validity of the test are strong with Cronbach alpha .90 for depression .83 for anxiety and .86 for stress. The test is considered as an effective tool to assess the psychological distress among young adults. (Mahmoud, Hall, and Staten, 2010).

SPANE- Scale of Positive and Negative Life Experiences (Ed Diener, 2009):

SPANE is a 12- item questionnaire which includes six items to assess positive feelings and six items to assess negative feelings of an individual during the past four weeks. Each item in SPANE is scored on a scale ranging from 1 to 5, wherein 1 represents “never” and 5 represents “always.” The positive and negative scales are scored separately due to the separability of the two types of feelings. The Cronbach alpha of the scale is satisfactory, and the temporal reliability is moderately high, showing some change across a one-month period. The alpha shows satisfactory internal consistency of the items (Diener, et al., 2009).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

Sample characteristics of Psychologically Distressed (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress):

Table 2: Shows the distribution of depression, anxiety and stress among the participants in sample with respect to gender and severity of symptoms.

Psychological Distress	Severity	Gender		Total
Psychological Distress	Severity	Men	Women	Total
Depression	Mild	6	7	13
	Moderate	17	14	31
	Severe	7	9	16
Anxiety	Normal	3	10	13
	Mild	7	7	14
	Moderate	9	9	18
	Severe	11	4	15
Stress	Normal	0	6	6
	Mild	9	10	19
	Moderate	11	8	19
	Severe	10	6	16

The present study involved 30 men and 30 women screened with psychological distress (Table 4.2). Under mild depression, there is a total of 13 individuals (men 6, women 7), under moderate depression a total of 31 individuals (men 17 and women 14) and under severe depression a total of 16 individuals (men 7, women 9) are observed.

In terms of anxiety, a total of 13 individuals (men 3 and women 10) are observed to be normal. Under mild anxiety, a total of 14 individuals (7 men and women 7), under moderate anxiety a total of 18 individuals (9 men and 9 women) and under severe anxiety, a total of 15 individuals (men 11 and women 4) are observed.

Under stress, a total of 6 individuals (men 0 and women 6) are observed to be normal. In terms of mild stress, a total of 19 individuals (men 9 and women 10), under moderate stress, a total of 19 individuals (men 11 and women 8) and under severe stress a total of 16 individuals (men 10 and women 6) are observed.

Hypothesis 1. There are no significant differences between mild, moderate and severely depressed adults in life experiences.

Table 3: Kruskal Wallis H test shows the difference between mild, moderate and severely depressed adults in life experiences (N=60).

Life Experiences	Depression	N (60)	Mean Rank	H

Positive	Mild	13	44.04	11.03**
	Moderate	31	28.56
	Severe	16	23.25
Negative	Mild	13	16.54	14.56**
	Moderate	31	30.79
	Severe	16	41.28

**p<0.01, *p<0.05

A significant difference is observed in terms of positive life experiences and depression (H=11.03*). The mean rank obtained by mildly depressed is 44.04, moderately depressed is 28.56 and severely depressed is 23.25. Also, under negative life experiences and depression, a significant difference is observed (H=14.56**). The mean rank obtained by mildly depressed is 16.54, moderately depressed is 30.79 and severely depressed is 41.28.

Significant differences have been observed between mild, moderate and severely depressed adults in life experiences (table 3). In terms of positive life experiences, subjects with mild depression seem to have more positive life experiences when compared to moderately and severely depressed subjects. When an individual is able to experience positive feelings/experiences in their day to day life, there is a sense of hope and a will to bounce back in situation where they have to face negative circumstances which in turn would help them to deal with the situations effectively. Though a person might experience mild symptoms of depression in unfavourable situations, the symptoms will not increase the severity when there are positive life experiences in the picture.

Subjects with moderate and severe depression seem to have more negative experiences when compared to mildly depressed. Negative or undesirable experiences that have been accumulated over a period of time can cause emotional distress seen in psychological condition such as depression (Amiram and Melvin, 1975) which as time passes creates feeling of hopelessness and pessimism and this inturn causes automatic thought process wherein an individual gets negative thoughts in almost all situations without putting in conscious effort from their end. When an indivudal goes through series of negative experiences, they start to generalise dnd predict what lies ahead of them to be negative, this once again creates feeling of worthlessness which could increase the severeity of the condition.

Thus the null hypothesis stating that there is no significant difference between mild, moderate and severely depressed adults in life experiences is rejected.

Hypothesis 2. There are no significant differences between mild, moderate and severely anxious adults in life experiences.

Table 4: Kruskal Wallis H test shows the difference between mild, moderate and severely anxious adults in life experiences (N=60).

Life Experiences	Anxiety	N (60)	Mean Rank	H
Positive	Normal	12	42.38	9.03*
	Mild	15	10.23
	Moderate	19	29.50
	Severe	14	21.96
Negative	Normal	12	20.42	10.40*
	Mild	15	27.07
	Moderate	19	31.39
	Severe	14	41.61

**p<0.01, *p<0.05

A significant difference is observed in terms of positive life experiences and anxiety (H=9.03*). The mean rank obtained by subjects under the category of normal is 42.38, mean rank obtained by mildly anxious is 10.23, moderately anxious is 29.50 and severely anxious is 21.96. Also, under negative life experiences and anxiety, a significant difference is observed (H=10.40*). The mean rank obtained by subjects under the category of normal is 20.42, mildly anxious is 27.07, moderately anxious is 31.39 and severely anxious is 41.61.

There is a significant difference between mild, moderate and severely anxious adults in life experiences (table 4). In terms of positive experiences, subjects with mild anxiety seem to have more positive experiences when compared to moderately and severely anxious subjects. When individuals are able to experience favourable feelings every now and then, they tend to not generalise and assume as to what is waiting for them in future and this could help them to keep their anxiety under control. The ability to experience positive experiences could act as life jacket providing them with motivation, hope and zeal to keep swimming through the difficulties.

Individuals with moderate and severe anxiety seem to have more of negative experiences when compared to mildly anxious. The finding is supported by the study conducted by (Kinderman, Schwannauer, Pontin, and Tai, 2013) wherein it was observed that traumatic life experiences plays an important role in anxiety along with a person’s way of thinking and managing the stress that they are going through. If people go through similar unpleasant experiences over a period of time they start believing and start making assumptions that they will go through similar experiences in future too, this can create symptoms of anxiety in them as they tend to constantly live in the fear of having to face unfavourable experiences.

Thus the null hypothesis stating that there is no significant difference between mild, moderate and severely anxious adults in life experiences is rejected.

Hypothesis 3 There are no significant differences between mild, moderate and severely stressed adults in life experiences.

Table 5: Kruskal Wallis H test shows the difference between mild, moderate and severely stressed adults in life experiences (N=60).

Life experiences	Stress	N (60)	Mean Rank	H
Positive	Normal	5	53.90	25.04**
	Mild	20	39.80
	Moderate Severe	20 15	25.08 17.53
Negative	Normal	5	16.80	15.61**
	Mild	20	22.60
	Moderate	20	32.20
	Severe	15	43.33

**p<0.01, *p<0.05

A significant difference is observed in terms of positive life experiences and stress (H=25.04**). The mean rank obtained by subjects who are under the category normal is 53.90, mildly stressed is 39.80, moderately stressed is 25.08 and severely stressed is 17.53. Also, under negative life experiences and stress, significant difference is observed (H=15.61**). The mean rank obtained by individuals under the category of normal is 16.80, mildly stressed is 22.60, moderately stressed is 32.20 and severely stressed is 43.33.

Significant difference is observed between mild, moderate and severely stressed adults in life experiences (table 5). In terms of positive experiences, subjects with mild stress seem to have more of positive experiences when compared to moderately and severely stressed subjects. Individuals with moderate and severe stress seem to have more of negative experience when compared to mildly stressed subjects. Individuals who are moderately or severely stressed tend to magnify the distressing emotions that they go through on a day to day basis. Further they tend to make negative assumptions about their life events in general compared to those with mild stress.

Thus, the null hypothesis stating that there is no significant difference between mild, moderate and severely anxious adults in life experiences is rejected.

Hypothesis 4 There are no significant gender differences in life experiences.

Table 6: Mann Whitney U test shows the gender differences in life experiences.

Life Experiences	Gender	Mean Rank	Mann Whitney U	Z
Positive	Men	28.08	377.50	1.076
	Women	32.92
Negative	Men	34.78	321.5	1.909
	Women	26.22

Not significant

In table 6, there is no significant difference observed in terms of positive life experiences and gender (Z=1.07). In positive life experiences, the mean rank obtained by men is 28.08 and mean rank obtained by women is 32.92. Also, there is no significant difference is observed in terms of negative life experiences and gender (U=1.90). In negative life experiences, mean rank obtained by men is 34.78 and women is 26.22.

There is no significant gender difference observed between life experiences and psychological distress (table 6) which is contrary to the findings of (Nurullah, 2010) wherein females reported more psychological distress and childhood trauma when compared to males. The current finding is supported by the study conducted by (Fujita, Diener, and Sandvik, 1991) wherein it was found out that men and women are equal interms of happiness. Perception of an individual and the frequency of experiences whether men or women would be responsible for the positive or negative life experiences. When an individual is able to focus on positive life experiences, can enable indivuduals to improve their psychological wellbeing irrespective of gender.

However when we look into the mean rank, women seem to show more positive life experiences compared to men.This could be because interms of intensity, women seem to show more intense positive feeling than men (Fujita, Diener, and Sandvik, 1991). Also men seem to have more negative life experiences compared to women. Negative experience can start affecting a person and increase the severeity of their psychological concern if there is no social support and if they person feels isolated . Men seem to be more isolated than women because men do not look for emotional intimacy if they do not have a significant other in their life (Vandervoort, 2000).

Thus, the null hypothesis stating that there is no significant gender difference in life experiences is accepted.

CONCLUSION:

In the present sample there was a significant difference seen between mild, moderate and severely psychologically distressed (Depressed, Anxiety, Stress) in life experiences. In terms of gender difference , there were no significant difference observed between men and women in life experiences.

The findings of the study can help in suggesting the adaptive way of perceiving the situations which could lessen unpleasant emotions such as guilt, shame, hopelessness, regret etc. which could have an effect on the psychological wellbeing of an individual. Mental health professionals can use these findings to come up with interventions and treatment modules that are more solution focused.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I Anu Justy Jose would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Veena N for the continuous support of my MPhil study and related research, for her patience, motivation, and immense knowledge. Her guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my research study.

Besides, I would like to thank Dr Santosh. I am indebted to him for sharing expertise, and for his sincere and valuable guidance and encouragement.

I also extend my gratitude to the faculty of the Department of Psychology, Jain University for their guidance and support for carrying out this research.

I would also like to thank Dr. Chenraj Roychand, Chairman, Jain University, Dr. N. Sundarjan, Vice Chancellor, Dr. Sandeep Shastri, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Dr. Mythili P Rao, coordinator of Research Programmes for giving me this opportunity to carry out this research study.

I sincerely thank all my respondents who cooperated and spared their valuable time during my data collection.

Last but not the least I place on records my sincere sense of gratitude to my family and friends for their motivation and encouragement that helped me to keep going throughout this venture.

My gratitude extends to the almighty who kept me in good health throughout my research.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

Anu Justy Jose and Dr. Veena N declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Received on 25.08.2019 Modified on 30.08.2019

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2019; 10(3):807-812.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5828.2019.00133.5