what causes depression, and how is it different than normal sadness?

There is no single cause of depression. You can develop it for different reasons and it has many different triggers. For some, an upsetting or stressful life event – such as bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy and job or money worries – can be the cause. Often, different causes combine to trigger depression. For example, you may feel low after an illness and then experience a traumatic event, such as bereavement, which brings on depression. Sadness is something we all experience; it’s a normal, human emotion. We experience it when we experience something unpleasant in life—a loss, a disappointment, and so on. Sadness is what happens when you get a divorce. Sadness is what happens when you’re stood up for a date. Sadness is what happens when normal events occur in ways that are hurtful. Sadness can occur at very regular intervals in our everyday lives. However, sadness is not constant. Sadness is not an every-moment-of-every-day thing like depression is. Sadness relents, depression doesn’t. Sadness is interrupted by periods of laughter; depression often can’t be budged by even the most talented comedian

I would describe "normal" sadness as the ability to be knocked down, but you're right back up again after a short while. Depression, on the other hand, is like being knocked down and staying down. You're on the floor and you see all these things you liked to do before, but none of these things that made you happy are worth getting up for. And then you feel tired all the time because you're there, on that floor, and why get up when you can just sleep?

Many things can cause depression and it is not always noticed straight away. Some people forget that depression can affect anybody, even those people who seem to always be happy! Depression is not a sign of weakness or anything like that, it means life is too overwhelming and you may need a little support to help get you back on track again. Never be ashamed or worried to speak out!

Depression is caused by event, in the past of present. Depression is also caused by sstress and addictions. Depression is a combination of feelings like pain, anger, sadness, and hurt. Sadness is just sadness.

Depression is caused by a multitude of different things. It can be brought about by a traumatizing event, or it can be caused by seemingly nothing at all. Sadness is a natural part of life, depression is not. Depression infiltrates every aspect of a person's life, and to someone suffering from depression, there is no end to this permanent state of numbness.

Depression isn't sadness. you can be perfectly happy and normal in front of others who will never be able tell. You get into a state of mind where inside you aren't happy. When you laugh, its as if you aren't laughing inside. Something is there which is pulling you down. Even normal things you would do, just seem mediocre to you. You can have constant negative thoughts or actually just not want to do anything or interact with anyone.

My own depression was undoubtedly hormonal, and I developed postnatal (postpartum) depression after the birth of my daughter. Normal sadness is a natural reaction to something - disappointment, loss, etc. It heals naturally from a sort of profound numbness to acceptance, an accepted, researched and recognised process. Depression is different in that it is persistent and can often just happen for no apparent reason (such as a specific or series of events). Depression is an illness, sadness is an emotion.

Everyone gets sad sometimes, but what makes depression different is that is long periods of sadness, 2 weeks of complete sadness and depressed mood. It hinders your daily life that it can get to the point that getting out of bed is a chore. Depression is a disease and should not be taken lightly, as these feelings are real and can be inhibiting.

The simplest way to put it is that it's caused by a persistent chemical imbalance in the brain. Depression can be situational and caused by direct triggers, or it can be persistent. If it's persistent, it may not be "caused" by anything you can identify. It's different from normal sadness because depression is not just "being sad". When you're depressed, you often have difficulty feeling any emotions at all when you're not actively feeling negative ones. Sadness is a direct result of an emotional stimuli that is upsetting, and it passes. Depression recurs, and it often isn't what the person experiencing it would consider an appropriate emotional response to the situation they're in.

Depression can be caused by the imbalance of hormones in your body. It’s not something you can just cheer up from, sometimes people just need help from tablets to balance out hormones.