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While a lot of people seem to think that depression and sadness are the same things, they are not. You can be sad and not be depressed and you can be depressed all the while not necessarily feeling sad.

Learning about your mental health and how to identify the things you’re facing is a very beneficial thing overall. Depression is a very serious problem in this day and age as many people face it. There are more than 300 million people across the globe with depression of some form and being aware of it helps you to reach out properly and get the things needed to feel better.

For those who do not know depression is a common and serious medical illness that affects how a person feels, thinks, and acts in a negative manner. Depression can cause feelings of sadness but is not isolated to that. Those suffering from depression also usually experience things like loss of energy, appetite changes, feelings of worthlessness, difficulty concentrating, and so much more. While sadness is a feeling no one enjoys depression is a much more intense state to be in and leaves some people unable to even get out of bed.

Regarding the difference between these two things Here To Help wrote as follows:

Sadness is a normal reaction to a loss, disappointment, problems, or other difficult situations. Feeling sad from time to time is just another part of being human. In these cases, feelings of sadness go away quickly and you can go about your daily life.

Other ways to talk about sadness might be ‘feeling low,’ ‘feeling down,’ or ‘feeling blue.’ A person may say they are feeling ‘depressed,’ but if it goes away on its own and doesn’t impact life in a big way, it probably isn’t the illness of depression.

Depression is a mental illness that affects your mood, the way you understand yourself, and the way you understand and relate to things around you. It can also go by different names, such as clinical depression, major depressive disorder, or major depression. Depression can come up for no reason, and it lasts for a long time. It’s much more than sadness or low mood. People who experience depression may feel worthless or hopeless. They may feel unreasonable guilty. Some people may experience depression as anger or irritability.

It may be hard to concentrate or make decisions. Most people lose interest in things that they used to enjoy and may isolate themselves from others. There are also physical signs of depression, such as problems with sleep, appetite and energy and unexplainable aches or pains. Some may experience difficult thoughts about death or ending their life. Depression lasts longer than two weeks, doesn’t usually go away on its own, and impacts your life. It’s a real illness, and it is very treatable. It’s important to seek help if you’re concerned about depression.

While we are all sometimes sad, there is a fine line between merely being sad and being depressed. Sadness is normal, and we all go through it especially in stressful moments but when that feeling becomes overwhelming and other things come with it we should take the time to consider whether we’re actually facing the mental disorder known as depression. If you’re going through serious signs for at least two weeks, you should seek professional help to get the diagnosis you could very well need.

Sadness is temporary and still holds hope, depression is something that has to be treated and can come and go or be quite persistent depending on how you’re affected. That being said, there are lots of different treatment options for those struggling with depression, you don’t have to face it alone. While these two things are very prominently linked, they are not the same and that is something people should work to keep in mind.

For more information on this please feel free to check out the video below. Do you suffer from depression or does someone close to you? You would be quite surprised at how truly common it is.