Know the Difference Between Sadness and Depression

Published: February 17, 2010Posted in: DepressionTags: , , , ,
Know the Difference Between Sadness and Depression

With all the stress of the world economy and job market these days, depression is on the rise. Left untreated, depression can have a serious and lasting effect on an individual’s life. While sadness is a normal emotion that everyone will feel from time to time, depression is not. Sadness is the normal human reaction to the experience of emotional pain in our lives. Depression, however, is not the same as sadness. Depression is a serious illness that has the potential to lead to other serious health problems as well as the potential to end in suicide. Understanding the difference between normal sadness and depression is one of the keys to overcoming depression.

Some of the symptoms of major depression that are not the same as feeling sadness include:

  1. Feeling down or depressed for weeks, months, or years at a time with little to no explanation for the feelings.
  2. Having an overall lack of interest in things that used to bring pleasure, not interested in life, family, work, or hobbies that used to be either pleasurable or at least tolerable.
  3. Having frequent thoughts of death or suicide. If you are experiencing these, the depression has gotten worse than you may realize and it is important to get help right away. Some places to get immediate assistance include the emergency room, calling your doctor, or calling the national suicide hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
  4. Having a lack of energy, sleeping too much or not being able to sleep, feeling lethargic despite sleeping.
  5. Lack of appetite, unexplainable weight loss or gain.
  6. Lack of interest in sex, a significant decline in what your normal sex drive is.

These are just a few of the symptoms of depression that differ from normal feelings of sadness. If you are experiencing these symptoms, its important to get help from a professional in diagnosing depression. Left untreated, depression does not usually go away on its own. Sadness on the other hand is a passing feeling that generally gets better with time and distance from the source.

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