From another viewpoint, a counseling therapist may see depression not as a biochemical illness or disorder but as "a species-wide evolved suite of emotional programs that are mostly activated by a perception, almost always over-negative, of a major decline in personal usefulness, that can sometimes be linked to guilt, shame or perceived rejection".
Če nekdo veruje predsodkom o stigmatizirani skupini in potem postane njen član, lahko ponotranji svoje predsodke in razvije depresijo.