What separates depression from sadness and stress?

Depression is the integrated form of sadness and stress . Depression is a long term process of continuously being sad and stressed..and has its roots in repetitive thoughts of miseries an being sad nd stressed

I'd say the durability of these feelings. When they're more constant, that would be depression. I get sad and stressed sometimes but I'm able to shake that off doing things that make me feel good, but when I was depressed these negative feelings would go on for weeks, months.

Sadness is a temporary shift in mood, depression is a mental illness. Stress can be a cause for both.

Sadness may be coped with by spending some time with friends, or watching a funny movie. Stress may be eased by relaxing at the spa or reading a good book. With sadness and stress, you may feel down and out of place for a bit until you find something that lifts you up again. Depression, on the other hand, is not that simple. When you're sad, you usually know what can make you happier, whether it be listening to your favorite song or taking a trip to the beach. You know you're depressed when the things that used to make you happy, don't anymore. It's suddenly not as simple as being with the people you love and having a good time. Suddenly, you feel alone even in a room full of people. All the kind words and advice still leaves you feeling empty at the end of the day. Depression isn't just as easily coped with by going on the vacation of your dreams or spending time with the love of your life. It's feeling like no matter what you do, nothing works anymore. You could have it all, and still feel alone.

Sadness and stress are emotions we experience in response to situations. They are healthy, normal reactions to our environment, and these feelings often abate when the situation has passed. Stress can even be good for you in smaller doses, like when it motivates you to meet that deadline, or to react in a dangerous situation. Depression, on the other hand, is a condition that affects one's quality of life, causes personal distress, and interferes with daily functioning. While depressive episodes can be triggered by our environment, the symptoms tend to persevere long after the trigger is gone. There are different kinds of depression, but generally it is characterized by fatigue, loss of motivation, excessive or inappropriate feelings of guilt and/or worthlessness, thoughts of death and/or suicide, a loss of interest in activities you enjoy, and changes in appetite and/or sleep. For more information, you can visit http://depressionhurts.ca/en/default.aspx

An emptiness. For me personally sadness is where I have a clear reason for being upset, when depression is where I have many reasons, or no reasons. I may just sit there and start crying at the smallest thing because I ma so frustrated with myself. Its the need to sleep because you do not want to face the emptiness of the day.

Depression is a longer term issue. With sadness and stress you can still think logically and make changes to help yourself. Depression distorts your thoughts and sometimes makes you not want to help yourself because you feel you are not worth it. Things that would normally not make sense (e.g. suicide, you're worthless so much so that you feel guilty for breathing in air that should be for others, you are a burden on others that you would be doing them a huge favor if you killed yourself, etc.) start making a lot of sense.

From what I remember from the Self-Help module, a lot of what the professionals look at is duration. Also, although depression may have a trigger or coincide with several bad habits/happenings in the environment, depression is not typically environmentally dependent or based mostly on the stimuli at hand. I only have my own experience to go on, but when all the bad stuff got taken out of my life and I was put on antidepressants I improved. When I tried to "be normal" and quit taking the anti-depressants again, I quickly dropped back into being unstable and very close to suicidal. (note: it is preferrable to find and treat depression before it becomes that bad.. one can be very depressed and have it affect your life negatively in big ways _before_ one becomes suicidal) While things looked based on circumstances, and circumstances can influence a person in one direction or another a little.. in my case my sadness was a permanent chemical imbalance that needed medication to address. There are several different reasons why people might experience sadness and stress over a longer period of time. The self-study module, http://www.7cups.com/depression-help-online/ , explains how there are more than one type of depression. We active listeners are here for you and are happy to talk with you if you are depressed or sad or stressed. If you are really confused where the lines are between sadness and stress and depression, I encourage you to watch the self-study guide. http://www.7cups.com/depression-help-online/ and to follow up with a licensed therapist or physician. There is more than one type of depression and each one differs. Likewise there are several schools of therapy and many options today for treatment, so your prognosis if you don't stop trying to find things that work for you and your case. Good luck!

sadness and stress is for a reason...depression is that emptiness....u dont know wat to do ... u r just down for no reason....

This is a very good question- And I wonder the same for myself- I think sadness and stress is on the more milder side of things, and depression is on the more severe side of things- I think, good question. Might be a good idea to speak to friends, family. Maybe your local GP or doctor