6 Signs Your Sadness is Actually a Sign of Depression

Hello Psych2goers! I hope you’re doing well and finding time to take care of yourselves.

Have you ever wondered if your sadness could be something more? It’s normal and even healthy for all of us to get sad from time to time, but sometimes, your sadness could actually be a sign of depression (Schaeffer 2019). If you’re wondering whether this could apply to you, keep reading.

Please note that this is made for educational purposes, not for diagnosing yourself or others. If you believe you are suffering from depression, it is always best to seek the help of a licensed professional.

With that, here are 6 signs your sadness could be a sign of depression.

1. There’s no trigger

Do you find yourself sad for seemingly no reason? Is it hard to point to a certain event that triggered your sadness?

According to an article from Medical News Today, a range of life events tend to precede a normal amount of sadness, and crying tends to provide substantial relief (Fitzgerald 2019). These life events can range in severity and any and all triggers for sadness are valid! However, if you find that your sadness is hard to attribute to a certain trigger, it might be a sign of something more.

2. The sadness seems long-lasting

When you are sad, how long does it last? Hours, days, weeks? The duration of sadness can be a good indication of whether your sadness could be a sign of depression.

According to Medical News Today, a lower mood lasting more than 2 weeks could be a sign of something more (Fitzgerald 2019). Keep in mind too that sadness doesn’t necessarily have to be intense to be valid; any low mood that feels different from your normal can still be considered a form of sadness.

3. The feeling overtakes you

When you notice your sadness, does it prevent you from carrying out normal activities?

An article from Bustle synthesizes expert perspectives about the differences between sadness and depression. These experts, consisting of psychologists and licensed clinical social workers, agreed that sadness becomes abnormal when it regularly seems to take over and prevent you from everyday tasks such as completing work and socializing (Steber and Thorpe 2017).

4. It’s more than just sadness

When you’re sad, do you find yourself fatigued, mentally exhausted and unable to keep up with daily tasks? It turns out that sadness that is a likely side of depression doesn’t just come by itself.

According to an article from Healthline, a key difference between sadness and depression is that the sadness often involved with depression also has an impact on your energy levels, often in the form of fatigue or low energy (Whelan 2017). Moreover, the article explained that sadness that is accompanied by lasting, overwhelming guilt and/or worthlessness is likely related to depression (Whelan 2017).

5. You feel it all over your body

Does your sadness seem to ache all over? Rather than just emotions, do you find yourself with headaches and other body pains? If so, this may be a sign that your sadness may be indicative of something more.

Though sadness can sometimes impact our bodies, it likely points to depression when these aches and pains seem to come from nowhere. According to Healthline, physical symptoms of depression can be anything from spontaneous headaches, to stomach aches, to pains around the body (Whelan 2017). These physical pains could be trying to tell you that you may be more than just sad.

6. You don’t feel like you

In addition to feeling sad, do you notice your habits beginning to change? Maybe you sleep differently than you used to, or tend to be more irritable?

According to an article from Very Well Mind, depression can bring out certain changes in you that sadness typically does not evoke (Holmes 2020). Whether you are sleeping too much or too little, feeling more irritable, upset, angry, or pessimistic than normal, or notice a change in your eating habits, feeling less like yourself could mean that you may be more than sad.

We hope this helped you learn about signs that your sadness could be a side of depression. As a reminder, the studies and references used are below. Thanks for reading!

References

Leave your vote

2 points
Upvote Downvote

Total votes: 2

Upvotes: 2

Upvotes percentage: 100.000000%

Downvotes: 0

Downvotes percentage: 0.000000%

Related Articles

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Psych2Go

Hey there!

Forgot password?

Forgot your password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Close
of

Processing files…