{"id":3307,"date":"2019-02-08T02:11:22","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T02:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/?p=3307"},"modified":"2020-07-21T19:40:15","modified_gmt":"2020-07-21T19:40:15","slug":"depression-not-sadness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2019\/02\/depression-not-sadness.html","title":{"rendered":"Depression Is Not Sadness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"depression<\/a><\/p>\n

Depression is not sadness. You might feel very sad and believe you\u2019re depressed. You\u2019ve probably said at one time, \u201c I\u2019m so depressed\u201d when actually you\u2019re only sad. So what is the difference between depression and sadness?<\/span><\/p>\n

Depression versus sadness<\/span><\/h2>\n

Depression is a mental health condition. It’s as real as any medical condition. Sadness is a passing emotional state that happens for a short period of time. Sadness is realistic in thinking. Depressed thoughts can be unrealistic or distorted. There’s no hope in depression. Sadness has hope.<\/p>\n

Sadness<\/span><\/h3>\n

Sadness is emotional pain triggered by a painful, difficult, challenging, or disappointing experience. You feel sad about something.<\/b> Your dog ran away. You loved your dog and now you feel sad the dog is missing. Your sadness will fade either because of time or, because you get a new dog. In other words, sadness is temporary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sadness is a healthy release of despair. Despair cramps your muscles, dampens appetite, and creates restless sleep. Sadness creates chemical changes in your brain that affect your body. Crying brings your serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate levels back to normal. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes you feel sad for no reason. There may be a subconscious reason for your sadness. The brain is a marvellous machine, capable of storing vast amounts of information and memories. A moment or experience can be so powerful, it\u2019s stored as body memory. Life goes on and distracts you. When a trigger happens, the subconscious memory flies to the surface and suddenly you feel sad.<\/span><\/p>\n

You might be empathetic and taking on someone else\u2019s sadness. You might be going through the seven stages of grief. Either way, you will move past sadness and experience joy again. <\/span><\/p>\n

Depression<\/span><\/h3>\n

Depression is more than emotional pain. Depression affects every part of your life.<\/b> You feel sad about everything. It is pain felt throughout the body. It is feeling worthless and guilty. These feelings are excessive or not based on fact. You have recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. Life sucks. <\/span><\/p>\n

Depression doesn\u2019t need a trigger. It can be genetic. It can be caused by seasonal changes in daylight. Chronic bullying or abuse will create depression. Complicated grief and spousal death also cause depression. Depression can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Depression is different in men and women.<\/span><\/p>\n

Depression literally changes brain structure. Depression affects memory, attention, how you interact with others, time management, and energy. You don\u2019t enjoy things you used to enjoy. This is called anhedonia. You self harm. You lose hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"WHAT+IS+DEPRESSION+Depression+Facts\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The DSM-V<\/span><\/h3>\n

The DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)<\/b> is used by mental health practitioners in the United States and worldwide to diagnose mental health disorders. It\u2019s what doctors use to diagnose depression.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the DSM-V, in order to have depression, five to nine\u00a0symptoms\u00a0<\/span><\/a>need to prevail during a two-week period. The symptoms must cause significant distress or obvious changes in functioning. <\/span><\/p>\n

The symptoms of depression are:<\/span><\/p>\n