 These findings also suggest that people with depression experience a time dilation effect, and in effect support the notion of depressive realism, which suggests that people who are depressed have a more accurate perception of reality than others.Msetfi believes that this time dilation might be related to one of the symptoms of severe depression - helplessness, or the feeling that they are not in control of their lives, and this is usually accompanied by a feeling of guilt.Time perception is crucial for agency, the sense that we are in control of our actions.