What type of emotional recognition do individuals with depression struggle with?

Individuals with depression often struggle with recognizing sad faces accurately. This difficulty can stem from a variety of factors related to the emotion regulation and cognitive processing associated with depression. Because depressed individuals may have a negative bias in their emotional experiences and interpretations, they might misinterpret or overlook sad expressions, influencing their ability to empathize and connect with others emotionally.

Recognition of happiness, anger, or neutral expressions may not be as specifically affected in depressed individuals compared to their recognition of sadness. This impaired ability to detect sadness can have notable implications in social interactions, as it may hinder their understanding of the emotional states of others, affecting their relationships and communication.