From Self-Blame to Self-Acceptance: Young Adults’ Lived Experiences of Depression In South Korea

Background and Purpose: Young adults in contemporary South Korean society are expected to meet normative standards of adulthood, including occupational success, stable relationships, and a socially desirable image. Within these expectations, they often compare themselves with others and evaluate themselves against ideals of high achievement and perfection, which may foster internalized feelings of failure and self-blame. Traumatic interpersonal experiences, such as school bullying and family abuse, may further intensify feelings of worthlessness and self-blame. Although depression among young adults in South Korea has become a significant mental health concern, services and interventions remain largely focused on prevention and symptom treatment. Recovery from depression, however, extends beyond symptom reduction to include reclaiming agency and reconstructing ways of living alongside depression. This study therefore explores how young adults experience depression and navigate recovery within the achievement-oriented social context of South Korea.

Methods: Participants were young adults aged 19 to 34 who had been diagnosed with depression by a psychiatrist, were at least one year post-diagnosis, and had not experienced acute symptoms during that period. Using purposive sampling, 10 eligible participants were recruited, and each completed three semi-structured in-depth interviews. Interview length ranged from 53 to 125 minutes. The sample included four men and six women aged 21 to 32 years, and the time since diagnosis ranged from 2 to 13 years. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify major themes in participants’ experiences of deepening depression and recovery.

Results: Thematic analysis identified four themes regarding how young adults experience depression and navigate recovery. First, “Deepening Depression” captured how participants internalized feelings of worthlessness and self-blame through interpersonal trauma, social comparison, and perfectionistic self-pressure. Second, “Depression Disrupting Daily Life” described how depression increasingly undermined emotional regulation, daily functioning, and social connectedness while deepening isolation through participants’ sense that their depression could not be fully understood by others. Third, “Initiating Care and Recovery” illustrated how participants began to build recovery momentum through professional support and active engagement, gradually developing self-acceptance and self-care grounded in self-understanding. Finally, “Living Authentically Alongside Depression” reflected how participants understood recovery not as the absence of depression, but as living more authentically alongside it by valuing process over outcomes, moving beyond comparison with others, and rebuilding agency and self-trust.

Conclusion and Implications: This study highlights how depression deepens and recovery is constructed among young adults within social norms that demand becoming an “ideal” young person. Participants experienced recovery by reframing their experiences of depression as a source of personal growth, moving away from dominant social norms and comparisons with others, and coming to accept themselves as they are. These findings suggest that social work practice supporting recovery among young adults with depression requires going beyond symptom reduction to foster self-acceptance and help them develop a sense of self and life direction grounded in their own values rather than in dominant social expectations.