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I did not take part in the poll because there is a confusion in the OP between sadness and depression. They are not the same thing. Sadness isn't even always a symptom of depression.
Depression is different from sadness, grief and bereavement. The death of a loved one, loss of a job or the ending of a relationship are difficult experiences for a person to endure. It is normal for feelings of sadness or grief to develop in response to such situations. Those experiencing loss often might describe themselves as being “depressed.”
But being sad is not the same as having depression. The grieving process is natural and unique to each individual and shares some of the same features of depression. Both grief and depression may involve intense sadness and withdrawal from usual activities. They are also different in important ways.
The last two paragraphs come from the American Psychiatric Association web site at
For trying to teaching people that sadness and anxiety are not the same as CLINICAL DEPRESSION.
Just when I think people get it, someone always pops up who has yet to actually
research the debilitating illness.
Last edited by greatblueheron; 07-26-2018 at 05:06 PM..
If you look at the OP, a distinction is drawn from being down, emotionally, and suffering debilitating depression:
Quote:
I've noticed about myself that while I may get tired after a day's work, even become tearful and depressed, I usually sleep well and wake up ready to conquer the world again. I don't suffer from debilitating depression.
But I can understand and completely relate to wanting the language to be accurate. I've had one (1) course in psychology, literally PSYCH101 30 years ago as an undergraduate. Since then I attended law school, and attorneys have a very refined, precise and specific sense of language. This is why so many marriages and relationships break up during that first year of law school. Most people do not use language very precisely, and don't even really need to, and find the attorney-in-training a little annoying.
I chose romantic disappointment, social isolation, and general sense of despair. Also, I’m depressed that humans can’t be euthanized like animals when they’re old, terminally ill, paralyzed, disabled, etc. I would have more peace of mind about life if I knew that I would eventually get a nice, easy death when the time comes but nooooo, I have to be human and we’re expected to suffer through all sorts of ridiculous things because our lives are supposedly so precious.
I chose romantic disappointment, social isolation, and general sense of despair. Also, I’m depressed that humans can’t be euthanized like animals when they’re old, terminally ill, paralyzed, disabled, etc. I would have more peace of mind about life if I knew that I would eventually get a nice, easy death when the time comes but nooooo, I have to be human and we’re expected to suffer through all sorts of ridiculous things because our lives are supposedly so precious.
I think they can in some states and I know they can in Europe:
I did not take part in the poll because there is a confusion in the OP between sadness and depression. They are not the same thing. Sadness isn't even always a symptom of depression.
....so you're only considering situational depression?
My depression "comes from" my family - as in genetics. Both sides of my family have had multiple suicides...history of major depression and bipolar. So even though I'd say I've never regarded my life as happy - only rarely above a "5" out of 10 and typically lower than that I'd guess others would say my life was just fine. But my outlook has always been negative, independent of what's actually going on. Only in my 30's did I figure out that I just might need to see a psychiatrist like many of my other family members!
Day to day stuff I consider minor...work stress because I rarely feel like I'm doing a good job and usually blame myself. That and the horrible political news every day.
This house/area/state. I had a good life in N Scottsdale, fell in love with the great NW. Now, the scenery is amazing, but the area I chose is horrible. Filthy yards piled with junk, area drugs, punks. Really wish I’d never set eyes on this place.
The other night, spouse woke me up yelling. Getting up to let the dogs out,he’d whacked his shin in the dark and fallen. He was yelling “I hate this @#$&* house and I hate this *=$#@% area. Well, that makes me feel even worse and it’s my fault since I chose this place. How can someone get something so wrong? I don’t trust my judgement anymore. This was my idea.
Anyway, as awful as this heat wave is, I still have to keep on working on the house, so a for sale sign can go up next year. In the meantime, yes, pretty miserable. This is certainly fixable in the long run, but getting there. Seems like it’s going to take forever.
It is very rare in my life that I've experienced depression (anxiety is more my personal manifestation of stresses), but the one bout of depression that I did suffer was rooted in professional issues...unhappiness with multiple facets of a work situation that couldn't be addressed sufficiently via any of the avenues available to me.
To help alleviate lifelong bouts of depression and mania, I underwent 14 sessions of ECT (shock treatments) three years ago. It didn't help me. Depression is clinically different from sadness. But sadness hurts bad and I don't want to devalue it.
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