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

Sadness will pass in due course. But, if the feelings are interfering with your life and don't go away after a couple of weeks, or if they come back, over and over again, for a few days at a time, it could be a sign that you're depressed

You will know if you are sad or depressed because your mood will be very down. You will most likely want to be alone and not have an interest in doing the things that you wanted to before. You may experience feelings of numbness or the urge to cry, you may also feel very confused and lonely, since these feelings sometimes cause isolation. Sadness is a feeling that comes with heaviness and normally despair, and depression normally brings along irritation, seclusion, apathy and more. You will normally be able to identify these feelings without a lot of thought, and if you can't then it is best to speak with a therapist about what the disconnect between you and your emotions is.

Sadness can often be traced back to one specific event or thought, depression is more of a general sadness that you feel weighs heavily on your shoulders, and can make you feel apathetic, or like every day things are really difficult to manage.

There's a list of official diagnostic criteria, but if you're trying to figure it out for yourself, a good thing to ask yourself is if you can still have fun, enjoy things you've always liked, and be happy when you get good news. If the answer is no, and this has gone on for more than a few weeks, you're probably depressed (although there are also some physical conditions that can cause this so it might help to see a doctor if you can afford it).

Depression feels very different to sadness. Every witnesses and sees sadness in their life. Depression is feeling like you are worthless. It is on a much higher scale than sadness and can do much more damage. If you do ever feel like you are worthless or this life just isn't for you, please talk to a friend, parent, doctor or a listener on this site.

As I've experienced something, it's mostly about time and the effect. Sadness is something that doesn't feel good at the moment, it may weigh you down or even leave you desperate, but you mostly know the reason and a strategy to cope, and you know that sooner or later (maybe sooner) the pain will go away. Meanwhile,depression is persistent, it totally drains your energy, takes your ability to focus, is paired with feelings like guilt, shame or anger. You might not even always know what is causing your depressive episodes, it just happens. And you can't always see a way out either. But believe me, there is a way out, and you can win this fight.

If it interferes with your day to day activities and daily life, then you may suffer from depression and will probably benefit from consulting with a doctor.

Depressed feeling is probably you will feel fatigue, loss of interest on your activities, loss of appetite for more 2 weeks time. But sad will be okay after a while.

Depression lasts much longer. Wait it out. If every morning your feel like you can't get up, and it feels like a weight dragging you down, if you are tired whilst doing everything, with sadness always lurking in your mind, for weeks, then you are most likely depressed. sadness will come and go, but depression stays for a while longer.