People have a variety of emotions, and everyone feels sad at times, but if you don't properly adjust your emotions, sadness can develop into a more serious state, such as depression. In fact, it is not that there is sadness that is depression, so what kind of situation is normal sadness, and what kind of situation is depression?
Let's take a look at how to distinguish sadness from depression.
1. The persistence of sad feelings
Normal feelings of sadness are temporary, while depressive states are persistent. A diagnosis of depression requires a low mood that lasts for at least 2 weeks and is present most of the day. If the low mood lasts only a few days, or if the sadness persists for more than 2 weeks but is present only a small part of the day, it is likely to be just normal sadness.
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2. The causes of depression are complex
Normal sadness has obvious stressful events, usually after a person has received some kind of blow, and when the matter has passed, the mood can gradually improve; The etiology of depression is extremely complex, and scientists have not yet found the exact cause, which is generally believed to be related to genetics, changes in brain function, growth environment, personality traits, unhealthy lifestyle, physical health and other factors. Therefore, there is not necessarily an obvious cause for depression, or that the event that triggered the depression may have passed long ago, but the mood has not improved.
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3. React differently to the outside world
The reason why normal sadness does not last long is that after being comforted by relatives and friends during sadness, you can be happy and cheer up, or you can divert your attention through hobbies and hobbies, no longer pay attention to troubles, and thus get out of sadness; Depression is a deep depression that cannot extricate oneself, has no energy to continue one's hobbies, is not interested in things, and does not respond to the care and comfort of relatives and friends, as if there is a layer of fog between oneself and the outside world.
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4. Different degrees of impact on life
Normal sadness has little impact on work, study, daily life, and interpersonal relationships. Depression can lead to a significant decline in the patient's ability to work or school, a mess in interpersonal relationships, and in severe cases, even difficulty in taking care of oneself in daily life.
5. Other manifestations of depression
In addition to depressed mood, the three core symptoms of depression include loss of interest and energy. In addition, there is often a decrease in attention and memory, the person becomes unconfident, has a strong sense of self-blame, feels pessimistic about the future, and has thoughts or behaviors of self-harm or suicide; Poor sleep in daily life, loss of appetite or overeating, etc. The more of these symptoms, the more likely you are to develop depression and the greater the severity of the disease.
epilogue
This article is only a brief summary of the difference between sadness and depression, and it does not help you to distinguish the two correctly. If you or your family or friends are suffering from low mood, it is recommended to take them to the hospital for professional help so that depression can be treated as soon as possible and provide relief care for grief.
Planning and production
Produced by丨Popular Science China
Author丨Jiang Jiangling, Attending Physician, Statistical Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University
Producer丨Chinese Medical Association
Review丨Li Qingwei, Chief Physician of the Affiliated Statistical Hospital of Tongji University/Shanghai Mental Health Center
Editor-in-charge丨Dong Nana
Reviewer丨Xu Lai Linlin