The phenomenon you're talking about is known as 'depressive realism' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_realism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_

The phenomenon you're talking about is known as 'depressive realism' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_realism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depressive_realism). The evidence is fairly inconclusive, but it's an interesting (and IMHO, plausible) hypothesis on depression. The prevailing theory is that depressed people have a more accurate perception of reality (as opposed to the non-depressed, who have a positively biased perception). There's some (disputed) evidence that Winston Churchill suffered from depression. Perhaps this is why he was such an effective war-time prime minister: in a time of war, if your perception of reality is inaccurate, you're less likely to survive. It's interesting to contrast the speeches of Chamberlain and Churchill with this in mind. On the one hand you have Chamberlain's "Peace for our time" speech after concluding the Munich Agreement: "My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Go home and get a nice quiet sleep." And on the other you have Churchill's first speech to the House of Commons after becoming Prime Minister: "I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs—Victory in spite of all terror—Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."