ARE YOU SAD OR DEPRESSED?

Sadness vs. Depression
Daily Inspiration
By John H. Sklare, Ed.D, Lifescript Personal Coach
Published May 02, 2011

I receive a lot of messages from people who ask a very similar question: What’s the difference between sadness and depression? I bet many of you have asked yourself this very question in the past. After all, we all feel sadness on occasion. However, depression is a totally different animal than ordinary sadness.

Sadness is a normal human emotional state that typically follows some kind of loss, separation or upsetting event. Depression, on the other hand, can often have no activating event at all, and is accompanied by a much deeper, darker and more intense sense of hopelessness, isolation and emotional pain. Even though sadness contains many of the same elements as depression, sadness is a feeling that passes as one begins to deal with the issue at hand. But depression can linger for months or even years.

I read an interesting quote about the difference between these two emotional states. In a TV interview in 2006 following the loss of her husband, Gloria Steinem said, “I realized that in depression, nothing matters. And in sadness, everything matters.” Well said, Gloria!

If in doubt, however, the only way to truly know if you are clinically depressed is to get a professional opinion. According to mental health experts, depression is characterized by having five or more of the following symptoms on a daily basis:

Depressed mood.

Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or most, daily activities.

Significant weight changes or decrease or increase in appetite.

Insomnia or hypersomnia.

Psychomotor agitation or retardation.

Fatigue or loss of energy.

Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt.

Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness.

Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide, or a suicide attempt.


If you have these symptoms and think you may be suffering from depression, please make an appointment with your doctor or a therapist today. There is a way out of this darkness, but it can only begin with YOU taking action.

Wishing You Great Health,
Dr. John H. Sklare

MY THOUGHTS

Needless to say, it's okay to be sad from time to time. In fact, a good cry does some good sometimes. But depression is a serious matter that requires serious attention. If you have the symptoms, act on it now.