We Need To Stop Confusing Sadness For Depression, And Learn The Difference Between The Two

In a world where stress rains on bent shoulders, there are seas of emotions churning in each person. Lending words to our inner moods, we humans are blessed with a mind and body that can voice itself whenever it feels deeply.

Emotions are universal. People sometimes wallow in sadness while on other days they let their smiles dance in happiness. But for many the dark clouds of depression have started to appear amongst a growing list of mental illnesses.

The roundtable of discussion on depression is louder than ever yet there are instances in everyday life that often confuse sadness with depression. These days, scores of people describe a normal state of mind such as sadness under the garb of a crippling disorder that requires medical attention.

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You may have often noticed people loosely claim that they are depressed when in reality they¡¯re just upset over something as simple as losing a pair of shoes. Sadness is a normal human emotion and it fades into oblivion when we get over a loss, while depression is labelled as an abnormal emotional state. It chronically starts to affect our thinking, emotions, perceptions and behaviours.

While sadness is a phase that dissipates, depression looms heavily, it a constant state of mind that makes you feel upset and confused about everything in life. Finding the will to do anything looks bleak.

When someone is sad, it is triggered by an incident while depression may or may not be triggered by one. Many a time, it is difficult to find a reason for it and that can be a battle in its own, often fought by one.

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If you¡¯re sad, life can still be enjoyed. Bringing out a tub of ice cream and watching your go-to film to cheer up is cathartic but in a depressed state of mind which prolongs itself for months and sometimes years, searching for a balm that eradicates your misery is nearly impossible. It becomes difficult to bounce back after a head on collision with a setback.

A person suffering from depression goes through Anhedonia, a major symptom that allows medical professionals to diagnose it. People suffering from this symptom lose interest in socialising, hobbies, sex and sometimes food. The hedonic function completely vanishes into thin air. Hedonic function is defined as pleasure one derives from performing an activity they¡¯re fond of.

The lines between the two states of mind may seem blurred to many but there are strong telling points to distinguish them from one another. Damaging thoughts towards your self-esteem grows by the minute, the desire to hurt yourself seeps in and these become a cry for help which several do not voice. Thankfully the stigma around it is being fought on a daily basis. However, it sometimes gets trivialised to sadness that is escapable and a part of our daily lives.

As a sad person you wouldn¡¯t experience physical changes but depression brings with it several physical symptoms as well, they can range from back pain, joint pain to even slowed speech and movements. Science has discovered that brain chemicals such as serotonin and norepinephrine are the cause behind playing a role in mood and pain. Another downside of depression is that it can give birth to several more mental illnesses such as anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias and eating disorders.

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To further support my argument, I¡¯ll present two scenarios in front of you to observe who is depressed and who is sad. Usha has just learnt that the boy she likes does not feel the same way. She is upset but a couple of months into it she has forgotten all about it. Her life has kept her busy with constant distractions in terms of work, socialising and so on. But on the other hand we have Ishita who took the courage to walk up to a girl and profess her feelings. The girl dismisses Ishita¡¯s emotions and tells her that she isn¡¯t a lesbian and she should be ashamed of her identity. Months go by, Ishita is still disturbed by what was said to her. She starts to question her true self and eventually falls into depression. She is depressed by a chain of thoughts instigated by one person's words. Nothing distracts her. Her state of mind cripples her thinking, her perception and emotional well being.

You may argue that the two are very different scenarios, they may be but that is how contrasting depression and sadness truly are. Depression can stem from deep rooted causes, sadness does not. If tomorrow I am not able to afford a certain gadget, I may feel sad but I wouldn¡¯t use depression as a lingo to describe the same.

What we must do is to be mindful of how we choose to express. One needn¡¯t label their fleeting moment of sorrow as an illness which requires treatment and care. If we are fighting to normalise depression, we also must educate ourselves on the true causes and symptoms of it, in order to recognise it.