Sadness, a common response to life’s challenges, can easily be confused with depression. However, it’s crucial to distinguish between the two. Clinical depression, it’s an almost indescribable suffering condition, it’s not just an intensified form of sadness. Depression is a distinct cluster of symptoms that can be challenging to articulate, leading to a sense of isolation and often needing the intervention of a trained counselor.
Contrary to common belief, clinical depression doesn’t always involve sadness. Instead, signs may be emptiness, hopelessness, or even numbness, an absence of pleasure in daily activities, and recurring thoughts of death. This is different from what most people consider sadness and can lead to confusion and result in someone not getting the care they need, because their concerns are minimized or dismissed. Often times, sadness is an adjustment to stress and a healthy response to create motivation for change and still leaves someone able to get through the day. Depression is not really a feeling, but more a cluster of symptoms that together create crippling dysfunction.
Dismissing someone’s depression experience intensifies the feelings of isolation and experience of depression. This misconception is why counseling is helpful– it provides a structured and supportive environment for individuals to navigate the complexities of depression. It will be difficult for someone to ever truly understand the depths of someone’s depression experience, but counseling can help manage these symptoms and, often times, lessen the duration of suffering.
It’s important to remember that intense sadness, while a natural human emotion, is distinct from depression. In fact, loss of interest or pleasure is often the main complaint associated with depression, even outweighing negative mood alterations. For children, depression might even show up as irritability.
What should you do?
It can be helpful when seeking support from friends to use words that more accurately describe your current state. Unfortunately, telling someone you feel depressed will be misinterpreted as another form of sadness. Instead, discuss how nothing feels worthwhile, you feel numb or hopeless. Changing your description of what you’re going through can add substance to the problems you’re facing. It may even convince yourself that what your feeling is not normal and seeking help, in no way, makes someone less than who they are.
Meeting with a counselor, like Daniel Wysocki Ed.S., can speed recovery, but this can vary. This typically begins within three months of treatment for two in five individuals and within one year for four in five individuals. Recency of onset is a strong determinant of the likelihood of recovery, so a sense of urgency when seeking out professional treatment is important. This can be speaking with a psychological licensed professional counselor, like Daniel Wysocki Ed.S., or discussing your concerns with your primary care doctor.
About the Author: Daniel Wysocki, Ed.S., is a board-certified professional in psychology with over ten years of experience providing counseling and psychological testing. Based in Jonesboro, Arkansas, he provides comprehensive services to clients of all ages, including children, teens, adults, and families.
