What are the major differences between sadness and depression?

Our unhealthy, competitive, and mechanical lives have gifted us so much stress, anxiety, and compromises in terms of our wellbeing and wellness. Peace of mind and self-kindness are lacking. “Getting depression”, “feeling depressed”, and “looking depressed” are becoming common gestures in our communication. If you feel bad about the loss of your pet, would it be depression? Or if someone feels that life is a burden, would it be a state of depression?? Sometimes our pain lasts for a couple of days and then we come back to our lives. Whereas sometimes even years have gone by, but we feel helpless in releasing ourselves from bitter sufferings. Do both cases come to fall into the definition of depression? A person from the field of psychology can easily assess from behaviors, but for a common person, it becomes confusing to understand whether his/her friend or loved one is depressed or sad. As a result, when our friend needs unasked help, we become fail to understand and just assume that he/she might be having some mood swings. Being sad and being depressed, both are completely different mental conditions, but they can be interconnected. By understanding the major differences between sadness and depression, we not only be able to identify others' upset actions but also effectively assist in their sufferings. And this is my  intention to share a few major differences between sadness and depression with you. Here are these:

1~          Emotions / Mental illness.

Feeling sad is just like feeling happy. These are emotions. So it's natural to be sad over a painful situation or even while watching any tragic scene in a movie.

Whereas depression is a mental illness that should not be ignored. It affects an individual physically, mentally, socially, and privately. It is treatable just like others illnesses.

2~ Temporary/Prolong.

Sadness is a temporary condition. It comes and goes as one changes his/her situation. Sadness may switch to pleasure with the alteration of circumstances.

But depression may last for many years if it's not treated. The more time passes, the more complications may occur in one’s condition.

3~          Cause.

The reason for sadness is obvious and mostly it is related to current happening. Any unpleasant incident can be a cause of this feeling.

But in the case of depression, causes usually remain unclear. As its duration may consist of many years, so complexities in mental condition become a barrier to trigger out the exact reason.

4~          Visibility.

The visibility of sad feelings is usually clear just like its causes. If you are in a sad mood, then your appearance would tell the story, I mean to say that you might be found sitting in the corner or wiping off your tears.

But a depressed person disguises his/ her true suffering. Sometimes you may find that person as a central spot of gathering, without any clue that he/she had suicidal ideas one night before. A depressed person can effectively hide his/her pain behind the mask of toxic positivity. A sudden change in behavior without any apparent motive could be a symptom of depression. For example, a person starts talking too much and it was not before. An extrovert suddenly starts avoiding parties. Or your friend starts making excuses for the sake of isolation.

Bottom line.

Depression is a psychological problem that should be addressed and managed without wasting time otherwise its complexities may lead a patient to suicidal attempts or other worse consequences. Don’t ignore the sudden change in the behavior of your friends and loved ones. In some cases sadness can be a symptom of depression, though every sad person is not a depressed one. By understanding these major differences we could cheer up our sad friend and provide psychiatric support to a depressed fellow.

If you want to share any other prominent difference between these conditions, or your review regarding this blog, then give your feedback in the below section.

Thanks for reading:).

TO RESPOND