Positive autobiographical memories to counteract low mood in remitted depression: A longitudinal daily-life investigation

Positive autobiographical memories (AMs) have the potential to repair low mood, but previously depressed individuals have difficulty leveraging their positive AMs for emotion- regulation purposes. We examined whether previously depressed individuals benefit from guided, deliberate recollection of preselected AMs to counteract low mood in their daily life. Participants (N=60) were randomly allocated to retrieval of positive or neutral AMs and completed ecological momentary assessment of emotional experience for three weeks. Feelings of happiness increased only in the positive condition from pre to post AM recollection, whereas feelings of sadness decreased in both conditions. The positive AM condition was more likely to spontaneously use memory recall to counteract low mood. This effect was moderated by the strength of emotional benefit previously experienced upon recall. Strengthening positive, self-affirming AMs in daily life may provide a tool to support regulation of everyday, transient low mood in those remitted from depression.