Manhattan Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Schedule an appointment
  • Home
  • Teletherapy
  • Affiliated Therapists
  • Problems Treated
    • Anxiety
    • Panic Attacks
    • Insomnia
    • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
      • POCD: Pedophilic OCD
      • HOCD – “Gay OCD”
      • Harm OCD
      • Hit and Run OCD
      • Existential OCD
    • Depression
    • Social Anxiety
    • Health Anxiety
    • Trichotillomania
    • Dermatillomania (Skin Picking)
  • Resources
    • What is CBT?
    • How to Get Started with CBT
    • What Is Mindfulness?
    • Worksheets
    • Out-of-state Resources
  • Training
    • The MCCBT externship
    • The MCCBT Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • Mental Health Blog
  • Contact us
Home » Mental Health Blog » Depression » Depression vs. Sadness: How to Know the Difference

Depression vs. Sadness: How to Know the Difference

May 24, 2021 by Justin Arocho, Ph.D.

Clinical depression is different than feeling sad — although it typically involves feeling sad. Learn how to distinguish depression vs. sadness.

sadness vs. depression man

Feeling Sad

Everyone feels sad from time to time. In fact, sadness is one of the basic universal human emotions. Feeling sad can be unpleasant or uncomfortable. But the feeling exists for a reason (like all feelings), and feeling occasionally sad is part of a healthy emotional life.

Sadness is a common feeling in moments when we experience disappointment or loss. For example, you might feel sad after social plans you were looking forward to fall through, or if you lose a treasured possession. Sadness also tends to arise in response to being rejected, the end of a valued relationship, or losing an important person in your life. Like all feelings, sadness tends to last for a while but then diminishes with time.

What Is Depression?

Depression is a condition that is more than just feeling sad. Depression includes significant sadness as well as changes in thinking and activity level. People experiencing depression often feel very sad, but they can also experience a range of other related emotions, including regret, shame, irritability, anxiety, guilt, anger, resentment, hopelessness, or despair. They may also dwell on the negative or worry in a way that is difficult to control. These impacts of depression can be quite upsetting and make it hard to function in day-to-day life.

RELATED: Depression and treatment options

Depression affects about 7% of adults in the United States each year and can affect anyone at any point in life. It tends to last for at least two weeks, but often longer for many people. Most people who are depressed feel sad, but not everyone who feels sad is depressed.

How Are Depression and Sadness Different?

So how can you distinguish sadness from depression? Consider the following points:

Sadness:

  • Universal human emotion experienced by everyone at times
  • Healthy and normal response to disappointment or loss
  • Fades on its own with time

Depression:

  • Mental health condition
  • Causes widespread changes in mood, thinking, activity level
  • Interferes with and disrupts day-to-day life
  • Tends to last for longer periods of time

How Can You Tell If You Have Depression?

Here are some common symptoms of depression:

  • Depressed or sad mood, including feeling sad, irritable, or hopeless
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in life activities
  • Unintentional weight loss or gain, or changes in appetite
  • Sleeping a lot less or more than usual
  • Decreased energy
  • Difficulty concentrating or paying attention
  • Thoughts about death or suicide

If you are experiencing symptoms like those described above, it may be helpful to get treatment.

Overcoming Depression: Getting Treatment

Fortunately, depression is treatable. In fact, there are multiple proven treatments for depression, including both psychotherapy and medication treatment.

In cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression, clinicians help patients learn and practice a variety of skills for improving mood and decreasing depressive symptoms. Some of these focus on decreasing and changing unhelpful thinking patterns (such as dwelling on the negative), which can improve concentration and attention. Other CBT skills emphasize changes in behavior and habits that can improve self-care, increase motivation and energy, increase feelings of enjoyment and purpose. All of these skills work together to improve mood and the patient’s ability to function in daily life. CBT for depression is highly effective and is often used instead of medication for mild and moderate depression.

There are also various medications proven to help treat depression. If you are interested in medication treatment for depression, consider consulting with your physician, a psychiatrist, or other medical professional who can prescribe medications.

Distinguishing sadness from depression is important. If you’re wondering whether treatment for depression makes sense for you, please contact us. We are happy to help you review your options.

Contact Us

Subscribe to the Manhattan Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy blog!

Related posts from manhattanCBT.com:

Filed Under: Depression

Manhattan Center for CBT

Stay up to date with the Manhattan Center for CBT!

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 351 other subscribers

Categories

  • Addiction
  • American mental healthcare
  • Anxiety
  • Cancer
  • Career
  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy
  • Coronavirus
  • DBT
  • Depression
  • Eating disorders
  • Evidence-based treatment
  • Featured
  • Insomnia
  • Kids and teens
  • Mindfulness and meditation
  • OCD
  • Panic attacks
  • PTSD
  • Social Anxiety

Contact Information

Manhattan Center for
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
315 Madison Avenue, Suite #806
New York, NY 10017 (map)
1-646-863-4225
https://www.manhattancbt.com

Copyright © 2022 Manhattan Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy/Psychology, PLLC, d.b.a. the Manhattan Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy & Paul B. Greene, Ph.D. except where otherwise noted.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @anxietyocd

Recent Posts

  • Relationship Anxiety: How to Spot the Signs, and How to Manage It
  • Know the Important Facts About Emetophobia — the Fear of Vomiting
  • How to Be Kind to Yourself During Mindfulness Meditation
  • Anxiety and Difficulty Swallowing
  • All-or-Nothing Thinking: Examples and How It Causes Depression and Anxiety
  • What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
  • OCD
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Social Anxiety
  • Insomnia
  • Trichotillomania
  • Mindfulness
  • Panic Attacks