“I’m depressed!” everyone says it sometimes. We all feel down for some reason now and again, which can be triggered by small things, like bad weather or a bad night’s sleep, or by bigger things, like getting fired from your job or splitting up with your loved one. Often, these feelings of sadness blow over eventually after some time.
But sometimes they persist, for what may seem like no reason at all. This could be the start of a depression.
But how can we tell the difference between being sad for no reason and developing a clinical depression? What exactly is the difference between the two, and how can you tell the difference for yourself? This post will explore these questions, will investigate the difference between sadness and depression and will indicate when when it is time to take sadness serious and seek profession help. Three ways to distinguish between sadness and depression will be discussed.
Firstly, distinguishing between depression and “normal” sadness is difficult. What makes this so difficult is the similarity between feeling down for some time because of an unfortunate event, and clinical depression. For example, grief after the passing of someone close to you can last for some time and can feel severe, and can even impair normal life for some time. According to Harding (2013), however, sadness is a human emotion that we all experience that is interrupted by periods of laughter, and does not usually remain constant for weeks or months at time. Depression, on the other hand, often impairs someone´s normal life severely, is characterized by periods of prolonged sleep and disrupted eating patterns and can last for a long time, sometimes even months or years.
In addition, the DSM-IV has established official criteria to diagnose different types of depression, such as major, chronic and manic depression, persistent depressive disorder and psychotic depression, among others. Of these, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is most prevalent, as 7% of the USA suffers from this disorder (NIMH, 2012). Symptoms of MDD range from tiredness and loss of energy to persistent sadness, feelings of hopelessness and pessimism, loss of appetite, and avoiding other people, even close friends or family. If you experience more than 5 of these indicated symptoms for more than 2 weeks, the DSM states you could be suffering from MDD (DSM-V, 2013). This is the most objective manner of finding out whether there is more to someone´s sadness.
Thirdly, depression can be distinguished from “normal” sadness based on neurobiological findings. For instance, it has been shown that the brain of individuals suffering from depression have reduced volumes of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC), among other areas (Castrén, Võikar & Rantamäki, 2007). Reduced neurogenesis, suppressed synthesis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and impaired signaling in the PFC and hippocampus are also often seen in the brains of individuals suffering from depression. These neurobiological markers are not usually seen as a result of sadness, but indicate actual depression. This again indicates a clear distinction between depression and sadness, where depression leads to severe brain changes and sadness does not.
These three ways of distinction can be of help in determining whether someone is suffering from sadness or whether this is a depression.
However, if these three ways are not sufficient, there are also numerous depression self-tests to be found on the internet where the level of depression can be tested. For example, http://psychologytoday.tests.psychtests.com/take_test.php?idRegTest=1308 and http://www.depressedtest.com/. These tests, as the other three manners to distinguish depression from sadness, can eventually determine whether it is necessary to seek professional help for a depression.
Written by Iris Vegting
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.
Castrén, E., Võikar, V., & Rantamäki, T. (2007). Role of neurotrophic factors in depression. Current opinion in pharmacology, 7(1), 18-21.
Harding, C. (2013). Are you depressed – or just down? Daily Mail UK. Retrieved from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-131576/Are-depressed–just-down.html
NIMH. (2012). Major Depression Among Adults. National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved from: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/major-depression-among-adults.shtml
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