How do I know if I'm sad or depressed?

Sadness lasts for a short period whereas depression is kinda " it just follow you everywhere and stays there like your shadow . " when you're sad people around you can cheer you up , and you can just be fine by doing some silly thing . But when you're depressed nothing makes sense and think pessimistically.

Depression is like long term sadness. They usually say if it lasts for two or more weeks you should seek professional help.

Sadness is a temporary state that has been triggered by a specific event. Depression is a mental illness and is a permanent state (over weeks, months or even years). Depression can lead to suicide.

Everyone feels sad sometimes, it's normal. Sadness is an emotion, which means it's there for a short period of time, and is then replaced by another emotion. Depression, on the other hand, is not simply an emotion but a true illness. A depression will stay with you not for a couple of days, but rather weeks, months or in some bad cases even years. Also, if you aren't sure whether you suffer from depression or just 'general sadness', depression comes with more symptoms than just feeling gloomy. For example, a depressed person will not enjoy the activities that did bring them joy in the past. Or, you could be experiencing trouble sleeping when you are depressed (either sleeping not enough, or way too much). Of course, if you want to be absolutely sure, I would always advice you to talk about this with a professional (you could start at your general practitioner, for example). Hope this helped!

Depression is preety different from being sad. Depression may be felt as if there's no way out. Your chest feels empty and lonely. Sad is upset and sad is sometimes felt once a day or for a while. Depression is usually for a longer period of time.

Go back to the last time you were happy. And remember carefully what happened next. We all say we have mood swings and turn sad for no obvious reason, but small things like a text from someone can boost or lower your mood. Find if that is the case, if yes; then it's just sadness. For a little reason yes, but still just sadness.

Sadness will most likely go away with time. The likelihood of depression doing the same is slim. Sadness only lasts awhile and will go away, but depression will lurk in the shadows until it can strike.

Depression generally covers a longer amount of time, for example, if you feel sad on a consistent basis with no motive to actually upset you, you may be suffering depression. It's always best to consult a professional such as a doctor for 100% accurate diagnosis of this issue.

The difference between depression and just generally feeling sad is, depression affects you in a long-term, negative way. Feeling sad doesn't last long, and can be processed emotionally, learned from, and forgotten about eventually. It is temporary. Depression can last for awhile.

I would say that you can normally tell the difference when it starts to take over your day to day life and becomes a big problem. Also, when you feel sad for no reason on a regular basis that could too be an indicator.