What is the difference between sadness and depression?

Sadness is an emotion, just like happiness, anger, loneliness, etc. Depression is a chemical imbalance in your brain, and a diagnosable medical condition. Also, depression doesn't necessarily mean you're sad. Being depressed is more like being numb. It's like everything takes a tremendous amount of effort, and you don't have any energy whatsoever and everything feels impossible. It can actually be quite emotionless at times.

Sadness is when a person is controlled by emotions, such as easily affected and crying. A person who is depressed has lost hope in living and finds life very worthless.

Sadness usually has a cause of some sorts, while depression is a disease that can come out of no where, unprovoked.

Sadness is temporary while as depression grabs a hold of you and latches on, keeping you entrapped..

Sadness is mostly temporary, depression lasts months, years, and is more noticeable and can affect daily activities and may lead to suicide or severe anxiety

An individual experiencing sadness may become quiet or lethargic, and withdraw themselves from others. Crying is often an indication of sadness. While depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a persons thoughts, behavior, feelings, and a all round sense of well-being.

Sadness is feeling down for a few days to a few weeks at most. It is terrible, but completely different from depression. Depression is like being engulfed by all your problems at once. It's like drowning and not being able to gasp for air. It's suffocating. Depression is something that keeps you thinking about all the reasons why you are a screwed up person. It is like fighting a battle when you are half dead. Depression is the hurricane in your life, while sadness is just a shower.

the difference between sadness and depression is sadness is based on your situation; depression is something that you suffer from no matter what might be happening around you. Depression isn't something you can just shake off and get over.

Sadness is a temporary feeling that is very short lived where depression is a long term sorrow that effects ability one to perform every day tasks.

Sadness is an emotion is temporary. If a certain thing happens you may get sad. Depression is a mental disorder that makes you constantly sad/depressed, sometimes for no reason.