The difference between depression and sadness is often quite confusing, because they both share the same primary symptom: sadness.
But depression is more than just sadness. Depression isn’t defined by the extent to which you feel sad, but instead how long you’ve had these feelings and the physical toll they take on you.
Sadness is an emotion we will all experience. Break ups, deaths in the family, loss of a job or an unfortunate event are all catalysts of sadness. Depression doesn’t need a catalyst. If you’re depressed, you often feel sad and/or hopeless about everything regardless of what is happening in your life.
When you’re sad, you might feel down for a couple of days but are still able to enjoy things in life (sports, hanging out with friends, etc). When you’re struggling with depression, you lose interest in activities you once enjoyed.