Xuzhou Mental Health Service Station: When we encounter some disappointment, loss, or rejection, sadness and sadness are normal and necessary emotions.
Sadness is a short-term reaction to something that has happened. Over time, the sadness will diminish. Even for very unfortunate events, such as death, grief fades over time.
depression is different.
First of all, when a person is depressed, in addition to sadness, he will also have other emotions, such as self-blame, anxiety, insecurity, frustration, shame, anger, grievance, etc. Depression is not a single emotion, it is more like a tangled mess of negative emotions.
Furthermore, depression is hardly like sadness in that it fades over time. Depression often lasts for a long time and may even get worse. Sometimes depression can be good for a while, only to come back later.
Also, someone who is grieving can pinpoint specific events that caused the feeling, but it may be difficult to pinpoint what caused the depression.
Sometimes depression occurs suddenly and we may not know the cause.
Even if you can identify an event that triggered depression, the depressive feelings and reactions don't seem to be consistent with the event because it made you depressed? It seems not, so we cannot simply equate them. Sometimes, long after the event that caused depression, the depressive feelings remain.
In addition to emotions, depression also involves thoughts and behaviors
Many people think of depression as a feeling. In fact, depression includes not only emotions, but also thoughts and behaviors.
Mood: Maybe you feel depressed and frustrated, and you can’t quite explain why. There is always a chaotic, gray, and complicated feeling in my heart. These feelings are not a single one, but more like a palette of dull colors, a mixture of multiple feelings. These feelings are all negative, intertwined, confusing, and difficult to distinguish.
At the ideological level, you may have many negative comments and thoughts, such as thinking that you are worthless, good for nothing, and can't do anything well; the reality is not ideal, the future is also gloomy, there is no way out, and you are helpless and helpless; or you think I am pitiful, unloved, insecure, and have no sense of existence.
At the behavioral level, there may be some manifestations: I was interested in something before, but now I am not interested, there is nothing to be happy about, and I don’t want to do anything; or I always want to cry, feeling out of control and helpless; or I want to escape, feeling I am incompetent, I don’t want to face it, I want to give up.
There are also some physical symptoms, such as not wanting to eat or sleep, or eating too much and being unable to sleep, insomnia or lethargy, weight loss or worsening, etc.
If you have the above feelings, thoughts and behaviors, you should be careful. You are likely to be depressed.
