Two Generations of Depression: Discourses on Emotions Autobiographical Texts by in Russian Men’s

Abstract

Depression, as a cultural label for a specific emotional experience, is produced and shaped by the dominant emotional culture. Rapid transformations of the cultural context may result in a shift in the emotional norms that govern the experience, expression, and regulation of emotions. This article investigates how the transformation of emotional culture, following the collapse of the USSR, has influenced the experience of depression in men. This question is addressed through the generational analysis of discourses on emotions based on 30 autobiographical texts by authors of different ages. The collected texts, dating from 1976 to 2022, include personal diaries, autobiographies, and (non)anonymous posts on social networks. The identification of discourses on emotions is based on thematic coding. The analysis of these ego texts revealed four ideal types of emotional discourses: metaphorical, therapeutic, medical, and religious. Significant differences were found in how the Late Soviet and Post-­Soviet generations used these discourses to conceptualize their experience of depression. Men of the late Soviet generation saw depression as a specific emotional state, on par with emotions such as sadness and powerlessness, and, in some ways similar to a specific emotion itself. In contrast, the texts of the post-­Soviet generation are marked by a new emotional norm of happiness and self-realization, with an expanded use of therapeutic discourse. In this context, depression is interpreted as a failure to be a 'normal' person: happy, successful, and able to manage one’s emotions.