I feel sad a lot, unmotivated, and I often can't stop crying for many hours. But I sleep and eat decently and I also can smile or laugh sometimes. Am I depressed or just sad?

Hi! Wow, that must be a confusing feeling to go through! I am not qualified to diagnose you, and you might consider going to a therapist or talking to someone about this, but it sounds that you are going through a difficult time in your life right now. Ask yourself questions such as if you've always felt like this, and if you haven't, think about what might be causing this kind of sadness, as this might make it more clear for you. These types of feelings are often confusing for people as well, as these are often symptoms of depression, but don't mean that it's depression.

It sounds like depression to me, is there a reason for the sudden change in emotions? Big life change? Sometimes even happy life changes can make us feel sad or depressed! B

You might be. Having trouble sleeping and eating are some symptoms, but not everyone has them. And when someone's depressed the feelings are not always constan. There are better and worse days, somedays you can work a lot and maybe even go out, and the following you might not be able to get up. It varies a lot, not only day after day but hour after hour, maybe even minute after minute. If you feel sad and unmotivated a lot you should seek counseling or see a therapist to figure out why, because after all no matter if it's depression or just sadness you're not feeling well, and you deserve to be happy

I think it is completely fine to feel unmotivated and sad sometimes as life is not perfect and its completely fine to cry it out if it helps you calm down. You are the one who can best judge if you are sad or if you are depressed. Ask you self is there anything that triggers and makes you sad or makes you wanna cry? is that just one consistent thing that just keeps bothering, or is it some less permanent and more temporary situation that comes and goes away giving you a way of sadness but then also bringing you back to happiness? ask yourself that :) and I am sure you will have the answer.

You could very well be depressed, I would say it is worth going to the doctors. I was the same, I spend about 10 years feeling that I was just sad but they diagnosed me and helped me massively. It’s not a scary thing, going to the doctors. Well, I was scared at first but as soon as I started talking, I couldn’t stop! They’ve heard it before, so it’s nothing new and it’s every persons right to feel happy in themselves. It will get better for you when you get the right support for you, you can do this.

You are just going through tough times. I just want to tell you to be the best you that you can be no matter. Rough times only make your stronger. It is sometimes good to cry because we all need to let emotions out sometimes. If you are smiling or laughing that means you have something to be happy for, you're just sad. Motivation is the key to success. Feeling sad is just another part of life. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I want you to know that 7Cups will always there for you. Have a motivated day!

I understand that you are able to smile and laugh sometimes and you sleep and eat decently. I think the areas we need to address are you sadness, lack of motivation, and the level of crying you are experiencing. Are you currently receiving the services of a therapist or under the care of a psychiatrist? From personal experience, I can tell you that if your answers to those questions are no, reaching out to a therapist and/or a psychiatrist might be an effective way to answer your depression vs. sadness question. Also, crying for many hours and doing it often sounds more serious than sadness. 7 Cups has Licensed therapists right here online. I would suggest reaching out to one of them to help you get back on the path to mental wellness. I wish you only the best.

I can not tell you what you are feeling, but I can help you expand on those emotions. A lot of these symptoms do correspond with both depression and sadness, it’s very important to seek professional help if you are thinking about physically harming yourself or are mentally abusing yourself as well. Just know that it’s completely okay to be periodically sad, it doesn’t mean you have depression. Also, you are entitled to have any feelings or emotions you want! The most beneficial for me is to eliminate as best I can the negative or toxic things form my life making me feeling badly. Finally, remember you are amazing:)

Hi there! It seems that you are experiencing some symptoms of depression. The symptoms which you have listed as lack of motivation and persistent sadness are symptoms common with depression. I am not a doctor and I cannot tell you exactly what is going on. It seems you may have been hurt by an event or situation in your life. It's normal to be sad at times. Everyone gets sad. But because this is a constant emotion, I would not take it lightly. If this is something that continues, I suggest meeting with a professional. They will be better be able to help you identify and address the problem

I think it’s better if you can get diagnosed clinically, but from your description you might have depression. Depression doesn’t always mean feel upset all day every day, and sometimes your emotions can come through. Just like how laughing and smiling are responses to the things that are happening around you. Your senses may be numbed but there is always a possibility of reaction to things that make you happy. Otherwise in some cases, laughing and smiling may be automatic responses to hide your true emotions from others, while pretending to react normally to situations when in actual fact you don’t feel that joy or happiness. Whatever it is i hope you will be able to find happiness :)