When life doesn’t go your way, it’s normal to feel sad. Everyone feels sad from time to time, which is a good thing because no one would know what it’s like to experience joy without sadness. What’s more, individuals wouldn’t appreciate happiness and how it feels if sadness wasn’t a normal part of our lives.
However, there is a significant difference between sadness and depression. While some may shrug off depression as sadness, it is more serious and can have more severe consequences if ignored and left untreated. By learning the severity of depression and how it differs from sadness, individuals struggling can get the help they need to find healing.
Sadness Is Normal
Every human being since the dawn of our existence has experienced sadness. It is a natural human emotion to feel pain in our lives, and it would be concerning if a person did not experience sadness. While it is not pleasant to experience, it is necessary to keep your emotions balanced and your mental health in check. There are different severities of sadness, but each is temporary and typically goes away with time. This is the main differentiator between sadness and depression.
Depression Is More Than Sadness
Sadness is a common human emotion and a necessary part of our experience as individuals. Depression, on the other hand, is a complex mental health disorder that affects a person’s social, professional, mental, physical, and emotional aspects of life. For example, when you’re sad, you can still typically function and complete your day-to-day tasks. You may need extra comfort or take things slower, but you can handle your responsibilities for the most part.
Depression causes symptoms that can drain your energy, cause a lack of pleasure in life, change eating patterns, and cause numerous physical symptoms. You may also feel constantly sad, numb, irritable, or worthless. This is why depression so often leads to suicidal thoughts and ideations.
For these reasons, you must reach out for help if you are struggling with depression. You are a good person deserving of light and happiness, and depression can be overcome. It is not sadness, and therefore requires a different approach for treatment. Get help today.
Sadness and depression are often thought of as one and the same, especially by people who have never experienced the latter. However, there are striking differences between the two that must be understood so individuals struggling can get the necessary help. At Alta Loma Transformational Services, we treat men with depression by adapting our programs to their unique treatment needs. We know that a safe environment is integral to recovery, so we have dedicated our Georgetown, TX, facility to be a safe space for those struggling. Call us today to start your healing journey at (866) 457-3843.
