Why it is important to distinguish between depression and sadness

These are the reasons why it is essential to know the difference between sadness and depression.

At a time when, unfortunately, it is common to pathologize human experiences that are perfectly normal, there are many people who confuse sadness with depression.

Some of these people consider that this type of "labels" related to the world of mental health are just that, labels, and therefore, it is not worth stopping to think much about whether to call one way or another to how we feel.

However, in the field of psychology and psychiatry efforts are made to conceptually delimit mental and behavioral processes, and this is clearly seen when it comes to drawing a line between mood disorders such as depression and emotions such as sadness and depression.. Let's see why it is important to know these kinds of differences.

Distinguishing between a disorder and an emotion

What is depression? Major depression is a psychological disorder, that is to say, it appears in the diagnostic manuals used in the world of mental health.such as the DSM-5 (officially labeled as "major depressive disorder"). In fact, it is one of the most common mental illnesses, being present in approximately 2% of the world's population. Moreover, it is estimated that between 7 and 22% of people will develop this disorder at some point in their lives.

But depression is not only a widespread psychopathology, it is also one of the most dangerous. Although it does not degenerate in all cases into severe major depression, should it develop to become very intense, it causes the sufferer to experience suicidal ideation on a regular basis, fantasizing about taking one's own life and, on many occasions, attempting suicide.

This is the reason why more and more mental health awareness campaigns are being created so that when the first symptoms are detected, people to go to therapy as soon as possible so that, through professional support, they can overcome the disorder and return to work.They can overcome the disorder and return to an adequate quality of life.

And what is sadness? It is, as I said before, a human emotion. This means, among other things, that it is present in the lives of all people without psychological disorders, and that in fact, the inability to feel it is a sign that a medical and/or neuropsychological examination is necessary.

It is true that normally when we are sad we would prefer not to be sad because it is an unpleasant experience, but if we broaden the focus we realize that this element of our emotional side has important functions. In fact, all the basic emotions we feel are there, all the basic emotions we feel are there for a reason.We can find them in practically all species of mammals. Sadness motivates us to repeat the actions that take us away from it and avoid those that lead us to this emotion.

The importance of differentiating between sadness and depression.

Now that we have seen in broad strokes what depression and sadness are, we can now understand why it is essential to distinguish between the two. Depression, as a mental health problem, is an aspect that requires professional support through treatment or combination of treatments. On the other hand, sadness is not even a problem in itself, sadness is not even a problem in itself; if anything, it is a consequence of a problem we are going through, and possibly not even a problem in itself.If anything, it is a consequence of a problem we are going through, and possibly not even the most important one.

Moreover, while depression is a sign that something is wrong in our lives, sadness is part of normality, part of living and being exposed to different situations as we interact with the world and with others. No one should consider never being sad, but should invest efforts in leading a lifestyle that minimizes the risk of developing depression (a disorder that, moreover, is present throughout the months, while we are only sad for a few hours or days).

Depression, moreover, leads people to behave in a way that feeds the disorder, generating a vicious circle; sadness does not have this effect, among other things because its duration is shorter and it does not significantly modify habits.Sadness does not have this effect, among other things because it lasts for a shorter period of time and does not significantly modify habits. This is another reason why early therapeutic intervention is important in the case of a depressive disorder.

Finally, it is also essential to know the distinction between the two because, beyond stereotypes, it is not even true that all people with depression feel very sad. Some of them reach a state of affective flattening in which they feel that nothing matters to them, and consequently they do not even feel emotions intensely; in any case, they want to stop having to face daily situations that exhaust them psychologically and frustrate them. Depression is a phenomenon that goes beyond a specific emotion..

Do you want to have professional psychological assistance?

If you are going through difficult times and you notice that your day to day generates emotional discomfort, I invite you to contact me.

My name is Tomás Santa Cecilia and I am a psychologist expert in cognitive-behavioral psychology; I attend adults and adolescents either in my office in Madrid or through the online modality by video call.