Understanding depression: Are you really depressed or just sad?

Sadness is a universal emotion. You can describe yourself as "depressed" when your level of sadness is elevated. But how can you tell when profound melancholy becomes severe depression? Sure, depression involves sadness, but it also involves other things. Numerous indications of clinical depression, a mental health disease, including constant exhaustion, losing interest in once-enjoyable activities, and suicidal and death thoughts.

Ashi Tomar, Inhouse Psychologist at Veda Rehabilitation & Wellness says, “Being in a state of depression is way different from just being sad, it may require long term treatment and management through psychopharmacology and psychotherapeutic interventions. Although sadness is an integral part of depression, sadness doesn’t always amount to being depressed.”

If you're depressed because you lost a loved one, went through a breakup, or lost your job, it isn't pleasant, but it's also rather common. Grief, even great sadness, is a common response to such occurrences. Nevertheless, normal melancholy can develop into depression. You might be developing a case of depression if the feelings don't get better with time or if your mood starts to interfere with your everyday activities.

"In order to understand Depression, it’s important to understand its symptoms that are experienced nearly every day and during most part of the day for at least a period of 2 weeks. To meet the criteria for depression, at least few symptoms should match. The symptoms interfere with the social, occupational and all the other important areas of functioning. It’s important to note that in a major depressive disorder episode, the symptoms should not be due to a general medical condition," says Tomar.

• With sadness, it’s still possible to enjoy other activities. Whereas, it gets difficult to enjoy the pleasurable or previously enjoyable activities while undergoing depression.
• Depression causes serious disruption in the quality of life as compared to feeling sad. Sadness alone rarely affects the overall functioning of an individual.
• For at least a period of 2 weeks, the symptoms should persist in order to diagnose an individual with Depression.
• When it comes to sadness, it’s manageable to cope with it eventually. When all the coping strategies fail and the feeling continues to go on, it’s a sign of depression.

However, the diagnosis of depression is made upon the judgment of a mental health professional. Seeking professional assistance from a Psychologist and Psychiatrist for mental health concerns can be very helpful. Find a therapist who specializes in mental health therapies and treatments. Recovering from depression while seeking support ensures growing through the experience as opposed to just going through it.