Differences Between Sadness and Depression
Depression and sadness are difficult emotional states to deal with, and no one should face them alone.
It’s important to know the difference between depression and sadness, as they can be hard to distinguish sometimes. Some people are struggling with depression thinking that they’re just sad, and others are so sad that they think they’re depressed.
How can you know if you’re depressed or sad?
At Life and Therapy, we want to help you identify the different symptoms, so you can know when it’s time to look for professional help.
Let’s start by learning what depression is. Depression is a disorder that produces excessive sadness, loss of interest in enjoyable things (things that you used to enjoy), and low or no motivation.
Other symptoms of depression include:
- Feeling miserable
- Lack of concentration
- Not being able to make decisions
- Feeling guilty
- Self-critical thoughts
- Thoughts of being dead or self-harm
Depression also can lead to physical symptoms such as:
- Loss of appetite
- Low energy (even if you’re not physically active)
- Loss of sleep, or sleeping too much (more than usual)
Slowed activity and speech
Now that you can know what the symptoms of depression are, let’s learn about sadness.
Sadness is a normal feeling. We have all had a sad day or been through a sad time in our lives. Sadness is a feeling that is triggered by different situations, such as hurtful, challenging, or disappointing circumstances. When our emotional hurt fades because our circumstances changed, or we’ve adjusted to or gotten over the loss or disappointment, our sadness remits.
This is one of the main differences between sadness and depression, sadness has an end when the trigger situation fades away or we have overcome it.
Another important difference between sadness and depression is that when you’re sad, you should also have moments when you can laugh or be comforted, meanwhile when you’re depressed it’s hard or impossible to find enjoyable moments.
We need to understand that sadness is an emotion just like anger, frustration, and others, while depression is a mental illness and has to be treated by a specialist. It’s crucial to know that suicidal thoughts are not symptoms of sadness; they’re signs of depression.
Depression can affect how you feel, think, and behave. It’s a serious disorder that has to be addressed as soon as possible. It can also affect your relationships.
Life and Therapy
Remember that you’re not alone. If you feel some or all symptoms of depression, get in touch with us. Our process is really simple. We provide professional and affordable online therapy according to your needs (phone, video, or chat). Let us help you today. Visit our site lifeandtherapy.com, we’ll be glad to hear from you!