Emotional Ups and Downs: When It’s More Than Just Sadness

Everyone feels sad sometimes, but how do you know when it’s something more? 

There is a common belief that sadness and depression are the same, but when we understand the differences, we can better see when it’s time to get help.

Sadness is a perfectly natural, human emotion.  It is usually triggered by some type of event, and this feeling will typically fade over time with support or other positive experiences.  It is temporary and relatively short-lived. 

Clinical Depression, on the other hand, is a mental health condition where people feel symptoms that are more powerful than sadness, lasts 2 weeks or more, leads to a loss of interest in doing things a person previously enjoyed, interferes with sleep or eating patterns and generally leads to difficulty concentrating and doing everyday activities.  This can be intense enough that people begin to feel hopeless.  It is also not always triggered by some specific event.  In these ways, it differs greatly from normal sadness which often is triggered by events and temporary.

Quick Recap on How to Tell the Difference Between Sadness and Depression:

• How Long Does It Last?  Sadness is short-term, depression is long-term.
• How Much Does It Impact You? Sadness does not significantly impair daily functioning, but depression can disrupt work, relationships, and health.
• How Intense Is It? Sadness fluctuates, depression feels unrelenting and “heavy”.
• Is There An Emotional Numbness?  The feeling of numbness is not common for sadness but is for depression.

When should we seek help for Depression?  Seek professional help if your feelings last more than a week or two, get worse or if you have any type of suicidal thoughts.

As a therapist who helps people with depression, I would love to leave you with the understanding that not only is depression treatable, but there are a variety of different approaches from therapy, medications and lifestyle changes. 

Remember that it is just as important and normal to seek help for your mental health as it is for your physical health.  Checking in with how you are feeling is super important, and checking in on each other is also just as important.  With the right help, people often recover from depression, and that help is just one phone call away.